PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's squash team made some history on Saturday at the CSA Individual Championships. Sophomore Aly Abou Eleinen became the first A Division finalist for the Quakers since Stewart Ballard in 1986 and Yash Bhargava and Dillon Huang also advanced to their finals in the B Division.
 
The day began with junior Yash Bhargava aiming to secure his place in the Molloy Cup finals in the North draw. Bhargava faced another stiff test but proved up to the task, dispatching his opponent 3-0 and advancing. Not far behind him was Dillon Huang, who was able to beat his opponent who had beaten Bhargava in the Rochester match earlier in the year. Both players will now aim to become the first B Division champion from Penn since Hayes Murphy in 2016.
 
In the finale, Aly Abou Eleinen was tasked with facing Harvard's Saadeldin Abouaish, who had not dropped a collegiate match in two years, going 29-0 over that span. Eleinen was not intimated, coming out of the gate with a 6-0 lead in the first game before taking it 11-4. Eleinen followed up that with two more strong victories, including a tight 11-8 decision in the final to secure his first ever appearance in the A Division final. Eleinen will now seek to become Penn's first individual champion since Ned Edwards in 1979.
 
 
Results
Pool Trophy: A Division
Semifinals: Aly Abou Eleinen (Penn) d. Saadeldin Abouaish (Harvard) – 11-4, 11-5, 11-8
Molloy Cup: B Division
Semifinals - North: Yash Bhargava (Penn) d. Salim Khan (George Washington) – 11-5, 11-8, 11-5
Semifinals – East: Dillon Huang (Penn) d. Marcus Sim Wei Jie (Rochester) – 11-7, 11-5, 11-9
 
What's Ahead
Pool Trophy: A Division
Finals: Aly Abou Eleinen (Penn) vs. #3 Marwan Tarek (Harvard) – 1:30 p.m.
Molloy Cup: B Division
Finals – North: Yash Bhargava (Penn) vs. Sanjay Jeeva (Franklin & Marshall) – 11:20 a.m.
Finals – East: Dillon Huang (Penn) vs. George Crowne (Harvard) – 10:00 a.m.
 
The Quaker men will conclude action at the CSA Individual Championships on Sunday, March 8 as Eleinen, Bhargava and Huang will compete in their respective finals.