Isabella Tang, Akaisha Bhatia and Trinity Moshi combined to take an incredible three of the top ten places at the US Junior Open, the toughest junior tournament in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most difficult in the world. Isabella took 6th, with Akaisha right behind at 7-8 and Trinity at 10th. Congratulations to each of them on their incredible accomplishment! Congratulations also to the following National Capital Squash (NCS) juniors who earned notable finishes at the same tournament: BU11 Eric Tang, 11-12th place; BU13 Zachary Ingber, 21-24th place in a draw of 72; BU15 Arjith Mathew, 33rd place in a draw of 128; GU15 Calla Yim, 18th place in a draw of 88; GU15 Makeda Moshi, 25-32; GU15 Elise Kang, 25-32    

In what is believed to be an NCS record, 18 local juniors qualified for the US Junior championships held at the Specter Center In Philadelphia in November. Simply qualifying for this tournament is an enormous honor. Draws are composed of the top 32 players in the USA in each age division, except for the under 11s, where draws are capped at 16. GU13s Akaisha Bhatia and Isabella Tang each reached the quarterfinals, with Akaisha taking third overall. NCS juniors who also finished in the top half of their draws: BU15 Arjith Mathew, 13-16 GU15 Elise Kang, 11-12 GU15 Khadija Elhaddad, 13-16 GU15 Calla Yim, 13-16 GU13 Trinity Moshi, 11-12 Congratulations also to the following NCS juniors who qualified for this tournament: BU11 Eric Tang GU13 Shreya Vadlamani BU13 Kian Patnaik BU13 Zachary Ingber GU15 Makeda Moshi BU15 Sami Garside BU15 Christian Keng BU17 Daniel King BU17 Rohan Bhatia GU19 Maya Reedich BU19 Alex Akbari

US Squash Junior Gold tournaments attract some of the strongest players from around the country. Nine local juniors reached the semifinals in their age divisions, with five reaching the finals. Congratulations to the following juniors: BU11 Eric Tang, Winner; BU13 Zachary Ingber, Finalist; GU15 Makeda Moshi, Finalist; BU17 Daniel King, Finalist; GU19 Maya Reedich, Finalist; GU13 Shreya Vadlamani, Third; GU15 Akaisha Bhatia, Third; BU19 Alex Akbari, Third; GU13 Radha Vadlamani, Semifinalist. Congratulations also to Calla Yim, who won the GU15 division at the Thanksgiving Junior Gold in Rhode Island.

Navid Modanlou won the BU13 draw at the tournament, which was played at the McLean Racket and Health Club and Squash at Tysons. Navid was never seriously challenged, sweeping all nine games on the way to the title. Charlotte Vengrin took the GU17 title and dropped just one game, in the final to Amelia Keng, out of four matches in her draw. Congratulations to Amelia for making her first Silver tournament final. Even though she lost in four games, in two of them she pushed Charlotte to 12-10. Nathan Reiser knocked out the second seed in the quarterfinals, then dispatched the number three seed in the semis before falling in the final in the BU17 draw.

Congratulations to the juniors from our area who took titles at the August Mid-Atlantic and South-East Regional Junior Championships or who placed well at the National Junior Championship Tournament (JCT) last weekend. At the regional championships that were played in Atlanta, Arjith Mathew (BU15), Trinity Moshi (GU13), and Elise Kang (GU15) took home first place trophies. Sami Garside reached the BU15 final, while Daniel King (BU17) and Makeda Moshi (GU15) took third. At the JCT in San Francisco, which attracted the top-ranked USA juniors, Daniel King pulled off repeated five-game upsets in the main draw. Playing in his first-ever JCT, and seeded in the bottom group at 33/48, King reached the BU17 quarters, a nearly unheard of feat, and finshed sixth.  Rohan Bhatia also reached the BU17 quarters, a personal best JCT result for him as well. GU13 Akaisha Bhatia, the #7 seed, knocked out the #2 seed in the quarters in an impressive four-game match and took … Continue Reading ››