PRINCETON, N.J. – The University of Pennsylvania men's squash team clinched the inaugural Ivy League Tournament title on Sunday at Princeton, taking down second-seeded Harvard, 5-4.
 
The Crimson gave the Quakers all they could handle early on, taking three of the first four matches. However, with their backs against the wall, the Red and Blue dug deep to keep their title hopes alive. First, Alex Dartnell gutted out a 3-2 win in a highly physical and back-and-forth match in the four spot as the freshman ignited a rally for the Quakers. Marwan Abdelsalam followed with another 3-2 win for the Red and Blue in a battle with Harvard's Omar Azzam in a thrilling match in the third position. Zane Patel and Salman Khalil had the next two wins for the Quakers as the match was all knotted up at four.
 
That set the stage for Varun Chitturi, who faced off against Segev Rome in the eighth spot with the ILT title on the line. Chitturi took the first two games and looked to deliver the 3-0 sweep. But Rome would not surrender as he took a neck-and-neck third game, 12-10. All eyes were on Chitturi to see how he would respond, and the junior from Fremont, California roared back to win the fourth game, 11-5, and clinch the victory.

Dartnell was named Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player after two terrific wins for the Red and Blue this weekend.

Chitturi, Khalil, Abdelsalam and Dartnell were also named to the Ivy League All-Tournament team after going 2-0 in the tournament.
 
Men's Results vs. Harvard:

1. Denis Gilevskiy (H) def. Omar Hafez (P) - 3-0 (11-9, 11-1, 11-7)
2. Salman Khalil (P) def. David Costales (H) - 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-5)
3. Marwan Abdelsalam (P) def. Omar Azzam (H) - 3-2 (6-11, 11-9, 11-13, 15-17, 12-10)
4. Alex Dartnell (P) def. Christian Capella (H) - 3-2 (12-10, 11-13, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9)
5. Maddox Moxham (H) def. Rustin Wiser (P) - 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-7)
6. Zane Patel (P) def. Alexander Broadbridge (H) - 3-1 (11-6, 11-9, 10-12, 11-3)
7. Jacob Lin (H) def. Rehan Luthra (P) - 3-2 (6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9)
8. Varun Chitturi (P) def. Segev Rome (H) - 3-1 (13-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-5)
9. Ishant Shah (H) def. Hao Cui (P) - 3-2 (11-13, 11-0, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5)

 
Up Next
Penn will look to carry this momentum into CSA Team Championships, beginning March 5th, in pursuit of a third straight national championship.