PHILADELPHIA- The University of Pennsylvania men's and women's squash teams rolled past Dartmouth, as both teams rose to 10-0.
The second-ranked men's team downed 10th-ranked Dartmouth 9-0, while the newly second-ranked women's team defeated ninth-ranked Dartmouth 9-0 at the Penn Squash Center.
The first wave for the men featured
Salman Khalil,
Nathan Kueh and
Hao Cui. Kueh was the first to finish on the men's side taking down his opponent in three games, and the fastest time of the day at just 19 minutes.
Khalil followed suit at the No. 1 spot, with a 23-minute and three game sweep. Cui jumped out to an early two-game lead, fell in game three but was able to hold on for the victory at No. 8.
The second set for the men included
Nick Spizzirri,
Varun Chitturi and
Dana Santry. Spizzirri dominated his opponent allowing just a combined 10 points in three games during his victory at No. 3.
Chitturi cruised to a three-game victory at No.6, while Santry finished moments later at No. 7 to extend Penn's lead, 6-0.
Last up for the men was
Abdelrahman Dweek,
Shaam Gambhir and
Omar Hafez. Dweek swept his opponent at No.5 in the longest men's match at 33 minutes.
Ghambhir followed with yet another sweep for the Quaker men, surrendering just one point in his final game. To round out the day for the men was Hafez, who allowed just nine combined points in his final two games at the No. 2 spot, earning the win.
As for the women,
Sohaila Ismail,
Ashna Tumuluri and
Penelope Oh were the first wave to see the court. Ismail earned the first victory of the day for the Quaker women, taking down her opponent in 29 minutes playing at No.1. Up next, Tumuluri battled in two close games, winning by identical scores of 13-11 but was able to sweep in three at No. 4.
Oh dropped her opening game, but rallied for three straight to take the win in four games at No. 8.
The following wave for the women was
Avni Anand,
Emma Wolf and
Grace Lavin. Avni dominated her opponent surrendering just eight points in three games at No. 3. Wolf played well at No.6, sweeping and taking down her opponent in 23 minutes.
Lavin played one of the most competitive matches of the day for the women, as she took down her opponent in three games, each being by won by a slim two-point margin.
Lastly for the women was
Franka Vidovic,
Natasha Pensler and
Emma Carter. Vidovic handled her opponent with ease, winning in just 20 minutes at the No.2 spot.
The last two finishes on the day belonged to Pensler and Carter. Pensler dropped her opening game, dominated game two fell game three, and won game four to force a game five. Pensler was down several match balls throughout the match but battled for the win.
Carter cruised through her opening game but fell in game three. Carter was able to stick it out in four games at the No.9 spot.
Men's Results
1.
Salman Khalil (P) def. William (Mac) Aube (D) 11-3, 11-3, 11-7
2.
Omar Hafez (P) def. Christian Shah (D) 11-9, 11-4, 11-5
3. Nicholas Spizzirri (P) def. Ekam Singh (D) 11-5, 11-5, 11-2
4.
Nathan Kueh (P) def. David Rubin (D) 12-10, 11-5, 11-1
5.
Abdelrahman Dweek (P) def. Quintin Campbell (D) 11-6, 11-5, 11-5
6.
Varun Chitturi (P) def. Ned Gildea (D) 11-4, 11-6, 11-3
7.
Dana Santry (P) def. Felix Feldman (D) 11-7, 11-3, 11-8
8.
Hao Cui (P) def. Callan Venkatesan (D) 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5
9.
Shaam Gambhir (P) def. Rana Thakkar (D) 11-3, 11-7, 11-1
Women's Results
1.
Sohaila Ismail (P) def. Maria Clara Ramirez Velasquez (D) 11-9, 11-5, 11-3
2.
Franka Vidovic (P) def. Eleanor Clifford (D) 11-4, 11-5, 11-2
3.
Avni Anand (P) def. Chelsea Cho (D) 11-2, 11-3, 11-3
4.
Ashna Tumuluri (P) def. Priya Verma (D) 13-11, 13-11, 11-5
5.
Natasha Pensler (P) def. Ellie Burke (D) 5-11, 11-1, 12-14, 12-10, 11-6
6.
Emma Wolf (P) def. Emily Schuster (D) 11-5, 11-8, 11-6
7.
Grace Lavin (P) def. Nathalie Taylor (D) 12-10, 11-9, 15-13
8.
Penelope Oh (P) def. Zayna Usman (D) 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7
9.
Emma Carter (P) def. Callie Worth (D) 11-2, 11-8, 10-12, 12-10
Quotables
Coach
Gilly Lane: "It was a great day, I thought the boys prepared really well, they came out from the start really fired up and aggressive and hitting their lines and hitting their targets, playing tactically really well. Dartmouth is a talented team, anytime you're playing in the [Ivy] league you always want to come out to a fast start, and I think that's what they did. I am really proud of them, and to win 9-0 is extra special, I don't think we've done that many times this year, so to have the full sweep, it was a great day."
Coach
Jack Wyant: "The team played very well today, especially considering we had two starters out with injury. Tomorrow will be a great test against a perennial national title contender, looking forward to welcoming the Crimson and seeing how the women perform against a top, top team."
Up Next
The men's and women's squash team will take on heated rival Harvard, on January 28. Matches are slated to begin at 12:00 p.m. from the Penn Squash Center.
The women's team will be honoring its four seniors prior to the start of the match.
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