No. 7 Columbia Men Defeat No. 4 Yale, Women Edged 5–4

Sunday, February 15

New York, N.Y.

1 PM

Columbia

Yale

Photo by: Brenden Willsch Creative LLC

No. 7 Columbia Men Defeat No. 4 Yale, Women Edged 5–4

2/15/2026 7:23:00 PM | Men's Squash, Women's Squash

Lions combine for 10 individual victories

NEW YORK – Columbia split a pair of tightly contested Ivy League squash matches against Yale, as the No. 7 men's team earned a 6–3 victory over the No. 4 Bulldogs while the women fell in a narrow 5–4 decision inside SL Green StreetSquash.

Men's Recap
Columbia controlled the top and middle of the ladder to secure the team win, highlighted by four-game victories from sophomore Yusuf Sheikh and junior Shaurya Bawa at the top two positions. Sheikh outlasted in a 13-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 battle against Tad Carney. Bawa rebounded after dropping the first game to defeat Lachlan Sutton, 3-11, 12-10, 11-2, 11-7.

First year Ahmad Haq cruised past Rishi Srivastava at No. 5, 11-5, 11-5, 11-3, and sophomore Imad Athar followed with a straight-game win over Rick Chen at No. 6, 11-3, 11-3, 16-14.

Sophomore Varun Fuloria delivered a pivotal five-game victory at No. 7, outlasting Oliver Velasco, 13-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-13, 11-8, while first-year Sam Du added another point with an 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 sweep of Bennett Eun at No. 8.

No. 7 Columbia 6, No. 4 Yale 3
1S | Yusuf Sheikh (COL) def. Tad Carney (YALE) — 13-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7
2S | Shaurya Bawa (COL) def. Lachlan Sutton (YALE) — 3-11, 12-10, 11-2, 11-7
3S | Arav Bhagwati (YALE) def. Franklyn Smith (COL) — 11-4, 13-11, 11-4
4S | Rohan Gondi (YALE) def. Arhan Chandra (COL) — 14-12, 10-12, 12-10, 7-11, 12-10
5S | Ahmad Haq (COL) def. Rishi Srivastava (YALE) — 11-5, 11-5, 11-3
6S | Imad Athar (COL) def. Rick Chen (YALE) — 11-3, 11-3, 16-14
7S | Varun Fuloria (COL) def. Oliver Velasco (YALE) — 13-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-13, 11-8
8S | Shaoqian Du (COL) def. Bennett Eun (YALE) — 11-3, 11-6, 11-7
9S | Jack O'Flynn (YALE) def. Laszlo Godde (COL) — 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8

Women's Recap
The women's match up came down to the final courts, with Yale narrowly claiming the 5–4 result after a series of tightly contested battles.

Nourin Khalifa led Columbia with a gritty five-game win at No. 1, defeating Heng Wai Wong, 12-10, 11-8, 6-11, 13-11, 11-4.

Columbia mounted a late push from the bottom of the ladder. First-year Isha Gupta captured a five-game win over Layla Johnson at No. 8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, while junior Advita Sharma earned a straight-game victory against Swetha Sivakumar at No. 9, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6. Senior Shaivi Rau closed the day with another dramatic five-game result at No. 10, defeating Aanika Tiwary, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 13-11.

No. 9 Yale 5, No. 15 Columbia 4
1S | Nourin Khalifa (COL) def. Heng Wai Wong (YALE) — 12-10, 11-8, 6-11, 13-11, 11-4
2S | Spring Ma (YALE) def. Yeheni Kuruppu (COL) — 11-7, 11-7, 11-7
3S | Meha Shah (YALE) def. Eva Salzman (COL) — 11-4, 13-11, 11-4
4S | Elise Kang (YALE) def. Kaavya Bansal (COL) — 11-7, 11-4 (Ret.)
5S | Eedha Mehta (YALE) def. Amal Izhar (COL) — 11-9, 11-4, 11-7
6S | Tsz Ling Alyssa Ho (YALE) def. Eugenia Li (COL) — 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8
7S | Whitney Taylor (YALE) def. Charlie McCrone (COL) — 11-7, 12-10, 8-11 (Ret.)
8S | Isha Gupta (COL) def. Layla Johnson (YALE) — 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8
9S | Advita Sharma (COL) def. Swetha Sivakumar (YALE) — 11-4, 11-6, 11-6

UP NEXT
The Lions are gearing up for the CSA Team National Championship March 5-8 inside the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia, Pa. More information can be found HERE

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