At the Saturday night party in conjunction with the 2015 Howe Cup, the Women’s Committee of US Squash presented two annual awards, both to National Capital Squash women.
Congratulations to AJ Copeland who won the prestigious Achievement Award, and to Mona Butterfield – whose passion and dedication to squash are demonstrated in her
organizing the National Capital Squash C and D level DC teams despite the fact she herself can no longer play -- for the Sportsmanship Award.
Here is the US Squash write up on the awards:
The revered Saturday night party took place at the Boston Aquarium where the Feron’s Wedgwood Sportsmanship Trophy and Women’s Achievement Bowl were presented to surprise winners, Mona Butterfield and AJ Copeland respectively. Both Butterfield and Copeland are active in National Capital Squash. Despite continued knee problems which now keep Mona away from actual competition, Mona can be relied on to rally the D.C. beginners … Continue Reading ››
National Capital Squash sent five teams in four divisions to the 2015 Howe Cup, held at the Murr Center courts of Harvard University in Boston, MA. This was the largest ever Howe Cup, with more than 250 women from all over the country and Canada participating in the three-day event November 7-9.
A teamLeft to right: Leslie Cameron, Chanel Erasmus, Maria Porras, Lindsay Wong, Casey Wong
The NCS A team featured Baltimore high school senior Casey Wong at #1, the only woman returning from the 2014 Howe Cup championship A team. Howe Cup newcomer Chanel Erasmus, a recent Trinity graduate, was recruited to play #2. Recent George Washington University graduate and Colombia native Maria Porras played in her first Howe Cup at #3. Casey’s older sister … Continue Reading ››
Report by Tefft Smith
The US Squash Hardball Singles season got off to a GREAT start at the 12th Annual Cardinal in D.C. the weekend of November 8. There was a significant new hardball entry -- Sabrina Sobhy -- the reigning US Squash Women’s National Champion! So now, hardballers can count both the US Squash Men’s and Women’s National Champions as hardball enthusiasts and promoters of hardball singles play, as both GREAT fun and an enhancement to soft ball performance.
Sabrina rapidly and progressively evolved as a hardballer. She defeated several hardball veterans before falling to her brother, 23 year old Omar Sobhy, the Pro at the Metropolitan Club, a highly ranked 6.0 softballer.
This year’s opening hardball singles tournament was played on the Met’s magnificent glass back walled, traditional hardball court. Omar’s and Sabrina’s match came in the semi-finals. Not surprisingly, it attracted quite a crowd. 18 year old Sabrina … Continue Reading ››
The third annual national Women's Squash Week event was celebrated in style in the National Capital region! More than 35 women attended the event at McLean Health and Racquet Club on Tuesday night, September 23. Skill levels of the participants ranged from rank beginners to rusty old ex-varsity hardball players, some of whom have not been seen on a singles court in this area for more than 20 years! Players new to the area and new to the game were able to meet up with other players of similar skill level. Play started with queen-of-the-court to accommodate the large number of players, which segued into rotating 5-point PAR "games". The first 30 attendees got a charcoal gray commemorative T-shirt, courtesy of US Squash. Many thanks to McLean Health and Racquet Club, to National Capital Squash, and to … Continue Reading ››
In the Premiere Division, Northern Aggression dropped just one individual match in the 2014 playoffs, and beat the finalist Shamrock Rovers (Results, The Gym) 3-1 to win the title. The starting four players of the winning team in the finals were: Syed Kukhari, Dan Petri, Lekgotla Mosope and Cameron Bahadori.
In Division 2, a combined team from Sports Club/LA and Regency Sport & Health edged Chevy Chase Athletic Club by a 2-1 score in the playoff finals. Ben Smith, Fabien Sarrran and Cameron Bahadori started for the champions.
Another combined team from Sports Club/LA and Regency Sport & Health won Division 3, defeating the University of Maryland team 4-0 in the final of the playoffs. Tim Bandel, Tyler Stilwell, Peter Gallagher and Abir Ray started for the division winners. Abir served as captain for the winning teams in the top three divisions and also serves as VP for League for National Capital Squash.
US Squash began naming All-Americans this season to recognize the top junior players who compete in high school leagues or tournament play.
Cameron Bahadori and Kira Keating were selected as the top players in the Mid-Atlantic Squash Organization, a regional high school varsity league that just completed its fifth season. Kira finished the season ranked #5 in the nation among all high school girls, while Cameron was ranked #42 among boys. Jeremy Barnes was selected by the coaches in the Washington Area Squash Association league, a local high school club team league that played its inaugural season as a US Squash sanctioned league. Jeremy finished the season ranked #102 among high school boys.
A strong field of National Capital Squash juniors competed at the US Squash National Championships and Silver National Championships. It is an honor to gain entry into either event -- congratulations to all NCS juniors who competed in these championship events!
Kira Keating was the sole NCS junior to compete in the National Championship, open to the top 32 players in the nation. This year's championship was held at Princeton University. Kira won 5 matches in GU19 to win the consolations, good for ninth place. She trounced two players she had never beaten before. Her only loss was a round of 16 match that had two tie breakers and her opponent went on take to fifth place.
Silver National Championships (Philadelphia)Nghi Nguyen won the GU19 Silver Championship over her Potomac School teammate Isabel Young in a thrilling five game match. Both players had rankings high enough for … Continue Reading ››
The fifteenth annual Potomac Fever welcomed 69 players from around the region. There was an exhibition match between Jahangir Naseem, head pro at McLean Racquet & Health, and Shoby Gul, who leads junior programs the same club. Shoby took the lead in the first two games, but Jahangir won the next two before Shoby won 11-7 in the fifth.
The exhibition was followed by a wine tasting, Pakistani food and a raffle.Congratulations to the tournament winners and finalists:Women's 2.5: Winner, Aalia Hussain; Finalist, Ubu GraceOpen 2.5: Winner, Miles Brown; Finalist, Rohan PaceOpen 4.0: Winner, Aadil Hussain; Finalist, Brent HarrisOpen 4.5: Winner, Ben Rind; Finalist, Anurag UppalMasters 45+: Winner, Ross Campbell; Finalist, Chuck MillerMasters 60+: Winner, Bruce Simons-Morton; Finalist,Gene Colice
The third annual national Women's Squash Week event was celebrated in style in the National Capital region! More than 35 women attended the event at McLean Health and Racquet Club on Tuesday night, September 23. Skill levels of the participants ranged from rank beginners to rusty old ex-varsity hardball players, some of whom have not been seen on a singles court in this area for more than 20 years! Players new to the area and new to the game were able to meet up with other players of similar skill level. Play started with queen-of-the-court to accommodate the large number of players, which segued into rotating 5-point PAR "games". The first 30 attendees got a charcoal gray commemorative T-shirt, courtesy of US Squash. Many thanks to McLean Health and Racquet Club, to National Capital Squash, and to … Continue Reading ››