PHILADELPHIA— The top-seeded University of Pennsylvania men's squash team completed its first perfect season and earned its second straight College Squash Association (CSA) Potter Cup national team championship on Sunday, defeating third-seeded Yale at the Arlen Specter Squash Center, 6-3.
 
The Quakers (20-0) won the first four matches of the day—Omar Hafez at No. 3, Abdelrahman Dweek at No. 8, Marwan Abdelsalam at No. 4, and Nick Spizzirri at No. 2—to get on the verge of the title. Yale (10-3) fought hard and won the next two matches (at No. 9 and No. 6) to close the gap to 4-2, but Salman Khalil won in four games at the top spot to clinch the fifth and final point.
 
"In many ways, this year was way more stressful than last year," said head coach Gilly Lane C'07. "I've always loved being the person who's going after it and chasing it, really attacking the big dog. It was a weird situation being the other way around this year.
 
"I've never been more impressed with a group of student-athletes," he continued. "They just got it and understood what they needed to do in big moments. In actuality, I was able to take a step back a bit because it was such a senior-laden group, an upperclass-led group. I am more honored than anything to get to coach these incredible players."
 
How It Happened
Hafez was on the exhibition court for the first wave and got things started with a sweep. He was followed quickly by Dweek, and then Abdelsalam—who lost his first game but rolled in the next three—to put Penn up 3-0 as the second wave of matches got started. Spizzirri made quick work of his opponent on the exhibition court, winning in three, and at that point it seemed like the Red and Blue were well on their way.
 
"I thought the biggest match was Dweek's match," said Lane. "He's gone up and down with that particular opponent throughout his college career, so for him to get over the line in three gave us some good momentum. Nick is always a stud, so tough, and it was great for him to finish his career so emphatically. That put us up 4-0 but then it got a little edgy."
 
Indeed…not so fast. Varun Chitturi won his first game but lost the next two. He fought back to win the third, then fought off several match points in the fifth before falling 11-9. Dana Santry, meanwhile, fell in his first two games, fought off a few match points to win the third, then another match point in the fourth before he was vanquished.
 
By that time the third match was underway on the exhibition court and Penn had to like its chances with CSA individual champion Khalil repping the Red and Blue. He did not disappoint, winning the first game 11-4. His opponent, Tad Carney, came back with a 13-11 win in the second game, and then the two battled through a dramatic third game that Khalil pulled out, 11-9. That seemed to take the wind out of Carney's sails, and the Quaker sophomore rolled to an 11-3 victory in the fourth game to clinch the win for Penn.
 
Nathan Kueh (who was up 2-1 in games) and Zane Patel (who was down 2-1) had their matches abandoned once Khalil's match went final.

#1 Penn 6, #3 Yale 3

1. Salman Khalil (P) def. Tad Carney (Y), 3-1 (11-4, 11-13, 11-9, 11-3)
2. Nick Spizzirri (P) def. Arav Bhagwati (Y), 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-5)
3. Omar Hafez (P) def. Lachlan Sutton (Y), 3-0 (11-8, 11-3, 11-8)
4. Marwan Abdelsalam (P) def. Maxwell Orr (Y), 3-1 (12-14, 11-1, 11-3, 11-6)
5. Nathan Kueh (P) def. Rohan Gondi (Y), 2-1 (11-9, 11-6, 14-16, 11-0 ABN)
6. Rishi Srivastava (Y) def. Dana Santry (P), 3-1 (11-3, 11-5, 11-13, 12-10)
7. Max Forster (Y) def. Zane Patel (P), 3-1 (6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-0 ABN)
8. Abdelrahman Dweek (P) def. Nikhil Ismail (Y), 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-2)
9. Merritt Wurts (Y) def. Varun Chitturi (P), 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9)

Information about the 2025 CSA National Team Championships, 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.