This weekend, No. 5 Virginia men’s squash traveled to the 2023 College Squash Association National Collegiate Men’s Squash Team Championships at the Ferris Athletic Center in Hartford, Conn. The Cavaliers (13-7) were unsuccessful in the final team event of the year, losing all three matches to Yale, Cornell and Princeton.
Friday, Feb. 24
The Cavaliers first faced off against Yale in their second meeting of the season. The Bulldogs (11-4) won the first matchup 6-3 in mid-November.
Senior Aly Hussein, playing at the No. 1 position, defeated junior Siow Yee Xian in three straight games allowing only two points in the second game and zero in the third. Hussein only lost one match this regular season and finished with a 12-1 record.
The other two wins by Virginia players came at the two and four positions from senior Omar El Torkey and freshman JP Tew. El Torkey earned one of the three wins against Yale in November. During this matchup, Orr took him to five games but the Cavalier won the fifth game 11-7 to earn a point for Virginia. Tew won in three straight games against Tad Carney.
At the No. 5 position, senior Cullen Little had an 11-match win streak until he lost in the most recent match to No. 1 Penn. In his match against Yale, Little was ahead 2-1 versus junior Jed Burde before giving up the last two games and losing the match.
Junior Taha Dinana similarly had a long win streak at 10 games before losing to No. 3 Princeton. He took sophomore Max Forster to five games but was unable to come away with the win.
Junior Myles McIntyre forced another five-game match in the No. 8 position but also fell to his opponent in a grueling hour and 17-minute long match.
Saturday, Feb. 25
In their second match of the weekend, the Virginia team fell to No. 8 Cornell in an exciting back-and-forth contest.
Wins were earned at the one, two, five and six positions. Hussein battled against senior Veer Chotrani in a grueling hour long match to win 3-1. El Torkey, sophomore Evan Hajeck and McIntyre each won in three straight games to put the Cavaliers ahead 4-3 with two matches left.
Virginia put up an impressive fight against the Big Red (8-9), and four of their five losses went to five games. Baldini lost the first two games but managed to win the next two games to tie the match up. He lost the fifth game 11-5.
The victory came down to sophomore Charles Braff, who battled through a five game match against senior Nicholas Errington in the No. 9 position. Three of their five games went past 11 points, but the Braff lost 11-7 in the final game to lose the match.
Sunday, Feb. 26
In the final round of the CSA Championship, the Cavaliers had another tight match, losing 5-4 against No. 3 Princeton.
Each of Virginia’s four wins came from 3-0 sweeps. Hussein only allowed one point in the second game of his match and quickly beat his opponent to remain undefeated on the weekend. El Torkey and Little also won all of their matches.
JP Tew and Evan Hajek both took their matches to five games. Tew lost the first two games but was able to win the third and fourth to tie the match 2-2. He battled hard against junior Ahmed Wael, but lost in the fifth game 12-10.
Baldini, senior Tyler Mackesy and Durfee each lost their matches 0-3.
Each of the Cavaliers’ matches this weekend were against top-10 opponents in the CSA Championship and each were close losses. While not the result the team was looking for, many athletes are not yet done with their seasons. As the only players who went undefeated over the weekend, Hussein, El Torkey and Little are expected to be the most successful at the individual championships next weekend.
Virginia will play in their final event of the year, the CSA Individual Championships, at the Arlen Specter Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Mar 3-5.
Read More
ISTVAN: The ACC needs to expand its women’s soccer tournament
By Ben Istvan | 1 hours agoNationally renowned teams are being left out of the conference's postseason every year.
Men’s basketball prevails in season opener against Campbell
By Emory Huffman | 8 hours agoThe Cavaliers never pulled away from the Fighting Camels, but they got the job done to open the season.
New faces and adjusted expectations — a preview of men’s basketball in 2024-25
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayA new campaign awaits for the Cavaliers, with a murky path ahead.
