Flurry of Professional Squash Activity in Our Region

Our region has kicked off 2024 with tons of Professional Squash Association tournament activity.  Here is a quick snapshot of all the great tournaments that have occurred so far this year: Jan 5-7, 2024: Squash Inspire PSA Satellite Series 1- Winner: Tayyab Aslam (PAK), Runner Up; Abdul Malik (PAK) Jan 23-27, 2024: Squash Inspire Women's Open 2024 - Presented by Expression Networks and Play Squash Academy - Winner Nardine Garas (EGY), Runner Up: Caroline Fouts (USA) Feb 2-4, 2024; Squash Inspire PSA Satellite Series 2 - WInner; Tayyab Aslam (PAK), Runner Up; Omar Elkattan (USA) Feb 9-11, 2024: Squash on Fire Wild Card @ The University Club - Winner (W); Menna Walid (EGY), Runner Up (W) Alina Bushma (UKR) Winner (M) Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK), Runner Up (M) Ashab Irfan (PAK) Feb 14-18, 2024: Squash on Fire Open 2024; Winner (W) Amina Orfi (EGY), Runner Up (W) Tinne Gillis … Continue Reading ››

Seventeen NCS Juniors Gain Entry to the U.S. Junior Squash Championships

The U.S. Junior Squash Championships is the top USA Junior tournament, and it’s open only to the leading 32 US citizens in each age group. Merely being selected for this tournament is one of the highest honors possible for a junior squash player. Congratulations to all 17 NCS juniors who gained entry to this prestigious event! This is one of the largest, if not the largest, number of NCS juniors who have qualified for the tournament. Listed below are those who have gained entry to the tournament and their current position on the cut list. The final seeding of the tournament is randomized after the top four positions. GU15 Isabella Tang, 3 Trinity Moshi, 6 Shreya Vadlamani, 29 GU17 Calla S Yim, 8 Akaisha Bhatia, 11 Makeda Moshi, 16 Caroline Burg, 27 Khadija Elhaddad, 30 GU19 Elise Kang, 11 Indira Moshi, 25 BU13 Eric Tang, 9 BU15 Zachary Ingber, 14 Kian Patnaik, 27 BU17 Christian Keng, 29 BU19 Nathan Rosenzweig, 6 Daniel King, 16 Lucas Bitar, 32

Ingber Takes NYC Gold Title, Several NCS Juniors Notch Personal Bests in Gold Tournaments

Gold tournaments are the highest level of junior regional tournaments, and only one Gold tournament is scheduled in the USA on any given weekend. Zachary Ingber notched his first BU15 Gold title last month at the Baird E Haney Junior Gold in New York City. Inigo Jordan set a then personal best third-place BU15 finish at the same event. Caroline Dupree took home an 11-12 finish in GU17, matching a personal best. At the Calvert Junior Gold last weekend, Akaisha Bhatia, Inigo Jordan, and Christian Keng posted the highest finishes by NCS juniors by reaching the GU19, BU15, and BU17 finals. Christian dropped just one game on the way to the final, which he lost by scores of (4), 8, (8), (13). He set a personal best BU17 finish. Inigo, one of the most rapidly improving juniors in the nation, notched yet another personal best with his appearance in the final. The semifinal … Continue Reading ››

NCS Students Compete in the 2024 College Team Championships

Liam Rotzoll, playing #5 and #6 for Harvard as a senior, helped the Crimson finish fifth nationally. He racked up eight wins and just six losses during the season. With junior Emma Wolf playing #7 for the University of Pennsylvania, the team finished sixth in the tournament, resulting in an end-of-season national ranking of sixth. She recorded an eight win, seven loss season for the team. First-year Maria Arseniev held down the #2 ladder position for Tufts, which competed in the top-12 division at the National Collegiate Team Championships. First-year Rohan Bhatia was a reserve player at the championships for the Tufts men's team, which also competed in the top-12 division. He recorded four wins in eight matches for the team's in-season matches. In just its third year with varsity status, Georgetown won the women’s title in the College Squash Association (CSA) Divisional Team Championships. This tournament is for Women’s Varsity Teams ranked 13-32 … Continue Reading ››

The Potomac School Girls Take 3rd in Division III at the 2024 US High School Squash Championships

The Potomac Girls recorded the highest finish among teams from our district with their third-place division III finish at the High School Squash Championships in Philadelphia, equivalent to a national ranking of 35th. The event is the largest squash tournament in the world, attracting over 1500 players and over 200 teams. Congratulations to all seven Potomac starters: Sophia Calkins (#1), Haley Coon, Meera Vadlamani, Harper Kelly, Anya Aggarwal, Isabella Song, and Samantha Krilla. The Potomac Boys scored the highest finish among boys teams from our district, taking 10th place in Division IV. National Cathedral School sent a girls’ team for the first time. Other teams from our district that competed were Bethesda Chevy Chase, Whitman, and Episcopal (boys’ and girls’ teams).

BCC Reaches the Consolation Finals at the 2024 US High School Squash Championships

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School team just finished a run to the Division VI consolation finals at the 2024 US High School Squash Championships. Despite being seeded 16th, they gave the number-1 team (The Masters School from Dobbs Ferry, NY) a scare in the first round. Rory O’Hara, Will Harcourt, and Arjun Prabhala all nearly pulled off upsets in five-game matches, and Sohan Kilaru battled hard in a close 3-1 loss. (Teams consist of seven players.) In the next round, the team upset the number-9 seed (Loyola from Baltimore) by a 4-3 score (with Miles Vengrin, Sohan, Rory, and Arjun all winning their matches). In the consolation semifinals, they again upset a higher-seed -- Friends Central from Philadelphia. This win was even more dramatic. In the number-one spot, Miles was down 0-2 in games, and won the next three to win in five. Sohan fell 3-1 to an extremely talented opponent, in … Continue Reading ››

Barakat, Bruneau Win Their First Bronze Titles

After dropping the first game in the BU13 final 12-10, Laith Barakat came back to win his first bronze title at the Play Squash Academy Junior Bronze in Bethesda last month. Nicolas Bruneau scored his first tournament title without dropping a game in the BU15 draw. Genevieve Hartlage won all four matches in dominating fashion to take home the GU13 trophy.

Eleven NCS Juniors Compete at Houston JCT

An impressive 11 National Capital Squash (NCS) players qualified for the final US Squash Junior Championship Tournament (the highest level of junior squash competition in the USA), which was held in Houston, Texas last month. NCS juniors accounted for five of the 32-player GU17 draw. Despite being seeded 13th, Akaisha Bhatia reached the GU17 quarterfinal. Makeda Moshi finished 13-16 and Trinity Moshi placed 21-24. Indira Moshi set a personal best JCT finish of 18, in GU19. Among NCS boys, Zachary Ingber posted the highest finish, 10th in BU15, a personal best in that age division. Christian Keng also set a personal best in BU17, with a 19-20 finish.

Pair of Egyptians Triumph at Squash On Fire Open

From the SquashSite coverage:  "Amina Orfi and Youssef Soliman completed an Egyptian double in the Squash On Fire Open after wins over women’s top seed Tinne Gilis and men’s third seed Iker Pajares in Washington DC. "Orfi, 16, claimed her maiden PSA World Tour title after holding off a valiant comeback from Gilis in five games, ousting the defending champion in 88 minutes by a 15-13, 11-1, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 scoreline. "At 2-0 up and 6-1 up in the third, Orfi looked destined for a straight-games win but defending champion Gilis clawed her way back into the encounter to level and take a 9-6 lead in the decider. But it was Orfi who finished stronger, reeling off five straight points and capture the biggest title of her burgeoning career."