Men’s Squash Advances to Quarterfinals at 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 / Lem Photography

Men’s Squash Advances to Quarterfinals at CSA National Collegiate Team Championships

2/29/2024 11:07:00 PM | Men's Squash

Tournament Info Results

Columbia meets Penn in the quarterfinal match Friday

By: Garret Sulak

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The sixth-ranked Columbia men's squash team dominated in an 8-1 victory over No. 11 Western Ontario in the first round of the 2024 CSA National Collegiate Team Championships on Thursday at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.

With the win, Columbia earns a spot in the quarterfinals against No. 3 Penn at 11 a.m. Friday. The Lions were defeated by the Quakers back in January, but will be looking to flip the script in back-to-back matches after defeating Western Ontario in the second meeting between the teams this season. Columbia dropped a 5-4 decision to Western Ontario in January, but rebounded in a big way Thursday in the 8-1 win.

"The men came out focused, hungry and determined in the first round," Chris Sachvie said. "We flipped a 5-4 regular season loss into an 8-1 win, which is what we were looking to do. We'll carry the momentum into the match against Penn tomorrow."

Columbia dominated up and down the lineup to advance to the quarterfinals Friday. The top of the lineup put the Lions in control early and the team never looked back. Franklyn Smith rolled in three games to defeat Salaheldin Eltorgman, 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 in the top spot. Harold Castiaux earned a win in the No. 2 spot via default. Western Ontario earned its lone win of the match as Antonio Mendes defeated Shaurya Bawa in the No. 3 position, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 3-11, 11-5.

The next wave featured Laszlo Godde, Jacob Bulbulia and Zach Nam. Godde posted an 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 win at No. 4 against Daniel Deverill. Bulbulia battled through a five-game thriller to top Amin Khan, 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-0, 11-8 in the No. 5 spot. Nam earned his win via default.

The final wave featured Paarth Ambani, Rutvik Rau and Thomas Soltanian. All three won in three games to cap off an impressive team performance. Ambani defeated Ben Boulanger, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9 in the No. 7 spot. Rau took an 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 win over Josh Kay at the No. 8 position. Soltanian earned a 13-11, 11-5, 11-5 victory against Rio Schafer in the No. 9 spot.

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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For the latest on the Columbia squash programs, be sure to follow the teams on Twitter and Instagram (@CULionsSquash), on Facebook (Facebook.com/ColumbiaSquash), or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.