Squash Set for 2024 CSA National Collegiate Team Championships

Thursday, February 29

Philadelphia, Pa. / Specter Center

11:00 AM

Columbia University

#11 Western Ontario

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics

Squash Set for 2024 CSA National Collegiate Team Championships

2/28/2024 4:54:00 PM | Men's Squash, Women's Squash

Championship Central

The men and women will play their first-round matches Thursday

By: Garret Sulak

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Columbia men's and women's squash teams will begin their quest at the 2024 CSA National Collegiate Team Championships on Thursday at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.

The No. 6 men's team's journey for the Potter Cup will begin with an 11 a.m. match against 11^th-ranked Western Ontario Thursday. The winner will move on to meet No. 3 Penn on Friday.

Columbia dropped a 5-4 decision to Western Ontario earlier this season. Shaurya Bawa, Rutvik Rau, Adam Goad and Ryan Chen recorded wins in the match.

Columbia enters the championships as winners of two of their last three matches. The Lions posted a 7-2 win over Dartmouth before losing at Harvard. Columbia bounced back to earn a dominating 7-2 win over No. 6 Cornell to close out the regular season at home.

Rau has led the team in wins this season with a 10-2 record playing at the No. 8 position. Goad follows just behind with nine wins in the No. 9 spot. Paarth Ambani has also registered nine wins playing the No. 7 position. Laszlo Godde is 7-4 in the No. 4 spot and Bawa has earned six wins with a 6-5 mark in the No. 3 spot.

"The men's team will play the Western Mustangs from north of the border," Kenneth W. Torrey Head Coach of Squash Chris Sachvie said. "We suffered a tough loss to start the new year to them but we have some key players back in our lineup who missed the match so there will be a lot of new matchups and our men and determined to make a big run this weekend. It all starts with Western as we approach the event one match at a time."

The No. 9 will begin the chase to the Howe Cup by meeting No. 8 Cornell for the second match in a row against the Big Red. Columbia defeated Cornell, 6-3 at home to close out the regular season.

Amal Izhar, Eugenia Li, Nourin Khalifa, Aleeza Khan, Kaavya Bansal and Advita Sharma posted wins to help the team defeat Cornell.

The women also have won two of their last three matches heading into the championships. The Lions defeated Dartmouth, 7-2, lost to Harvard and fininished with the win over Cornell.

Reigning College Squash Association (CSA) National Champion Simmi Chan has continued to impress this season as she has posted a perfect 11-0 record playing the No. 1 position for the Lions.

Bansal holds a 5-7 record playing the No. 8 spot. Erica McGillicuddy, Khalifa, Izhar, Khan and Sharma all have earned four wins this season.

"The women have a rematch in the first round against Cornell, a team we just beat at home so that result gives us confidence but we know we will need to get up for it again and earn the win in Philly," Sachvie said. "We played one of our best team performances of the season against them so we hope we can replicate that again."

The draws, results, live scores, order of play and streaming for all matches can be found at the 2024 CSA National Collegiate Team Championships tournament page.

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