Columbia University’s squash teams faced Yale in two close Ivy League matches, with the men’s team defeating Yale 6–3 and the women’s team narrowly losing 5–4 at SL Green StreetSquash.
The No. 7 ranked Columbia men secured their win by controlling both the top and middle of the lineup. Sophomore Yusuf Sheikh and junior Shaurya Bawa each earned four-game victories at the top two positions. Sheikh won against Tad Carney with scores of 13-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7. Bawa came back after losing the first game to defeat Lachlan Sutton, finishing 3-11, 12-10, 11-2, 11-7.
First-year Ahmad Haq defeated Rishi Srivastava at position five in straight games (11-5, 11-5, 11-3), while sophomore Imad Athar also won in three games over Rick Chen (11-3, 11-3, 16-14). At position seven, sophomore Varun Fuloria outlasted Oliver Velasco in a five-game match (13-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-13, 11-8). First-year Sam Du added another point for Columbia with an easy win over Bennett Eun (11-3, 11-6, 11-7).
In other results: Arav Bhagwati (Yale) beat Franklyn Smith (Columbia), Rohan Gondi (Yale) overcame Arhan Chandra (Columbia), and Jack O’Flynn (Yale) defeated Laszlo Godde (Columbia).
On the women’s side, Yale edged out Columbia in a match that was decided on the final courts. Nourin Khalifa led Columbia with a five-game victory over Heng Wai Wong at No.1: “Nourin Khalifa led Columbia with a gritty five-game win at No.1 defeating Heng Wai Wong.”
First-year Isha Gupta contributed a five-game win against Layla Johnson at position eight. Junior Advita Sharma secured a straight-games victory over Swetha Sivakumar at position nine. Senior Shaivi Rau ended her matchday with another tight five-game result against Aanika Tiwary.
Other matches saw Spring Ma (Yale), Meha Shah (Yale), Elise Kang (Yale), Eedha Mehta (Yale), Tsz Ling Alyssa Ho (Yale), and Whitney Taylor (Yale) earning points for Yale.
The Lions are preparing for the CSA Team National Championship scheduled for March 5–8 at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
Fans can follow updates on Columbia squash through social media platforms X and Instagram (@CULionsSquash), Facebook.com/ColumbiaSquash or by visiting GoColumbiaLions.com.
