PHILADELPHIA— The No. 1 University of Pennsylvania men's squash team took down No. 8 Columbia in their first match of the CSA National Team Championship tournament with a commanding 7-2 win. With the victory, the Quakers move on to the semifinal round against No. 4 Trinity tomorrow, setting up a rematch of last year's Potter Cup final.
Dana Santry opened the match scoring, winning his match in three straight games and putting the Quakers ahead early. Omar Hafez doubled the lead minutes later, his victory coming after four games. The Lions cut the lead in half with Adam Goad's win over co-captain Roger Baddour, closing out the first wave.
Salman Khalil re-established the two-point lead for the Red and Blue with his three-game sweep to open the second wave. Columbia cut into the lead again with a win from Zach Nam over Zane Patel as Varun Chitturi and Laszlo Godde battled back and forth on the third court.
The third wave began as the Chitturi and Godde continued their bout. Nick Spizzirri put up a point of his own for the Quakers, making the lead 4-2 over the Lions. Crowds gathered around the corner courts, watching as Marwan Abdelsalam played Franklyn Smith with Chitturi and Godde on the other side of the partition wall. Mixed reactions could be heard as Chitturi forced a game five, but Smith broke up Abdelsalam's sweep. In the span of only a few minutes, Abdelsalam clinched the match for the Red and Blue, and Chitturi pulled out the win for the sixth point of the day. Co-captain Abdelrahman Dweek took the court last, making quick work of Thomas Soltanian to close out the match.
Final: Penn 7, Columbia 2
- Salman Khalil (P) def. Shaurya Bawa (C), 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-4)
- Nick Spizzirri (P) def. Yusuf Sheikh (C), 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-5)
- Omar Hafez (P) def. Arhan Chandra (C), 3-1 (9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-7)
- Marwan Abdelsalam (P) def. Franklyn Smith (C), 3-1 (11-6, 11-3, 4-11, 11-8)
- Dana Santry (P) def. Imad Athar (C), 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 13-11)
- Zach Nam (C) def. Zane Patel (P), 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-7)
- Abdelrahman Dweek (P) def. Thomas Soltanian (C), 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-7)
- Varun Chitturi (P) def. Laszlo Godde (C), 3-2 (8-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10)
- Adam Goad (C) def. Roger Baddour (C), 3-1 (6-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3)
Next Up:
No. 5 Penn will square off against No. 1 Trinity tomorrow morning in the Semifinal Round.
#1 Penn (18-0) vs. #4 Trinity (16-1)
Saturday, Mar. 8, 2025 | 3 p.m.
Arlen Specter Squash Center | Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Scoring | Watch
Information about the 2025 CSA National Team Championship, including the tournament bracket, can be found on the tournament website linked here.
For the latest on Penn Squash, follow @PennSquash on X and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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