Genevieve Hartlage took home her first tournament title last month at the Play Squash Academy McLean Bronze. She cruised into the GU13 final and overcame Rose Naughton 14. 10. 9 in a hotly contested match for the title.
Philip Barquin dominated on his way to his first tournament trophy, winning four straight BU11 matches 3-0 and racking up 132 points to just 39 by his opponents.
Special recognition also goes out to BU13 Laith Barakat. Playing in his first tournament ever, and as the #6 seed in an eight-player draw, he defeated the #2 and #3 seeds before falling in the final in a four-game match by scores of 4, 3, (11), 10.
Congratulations to Arman Sana (BU17) and Aleksei Pilling (BU13), who won their divisions at the Junior Silver held in Bethesda last month. It was Sana’s first Silver tournament title and Pilling’s first BU13 Silver trophy. Both dominated their draws, winning out 3-0.
Mariam Masoud finished second in GU15 and Oskar Brown finished third in the BU15 division after losing to the eventual winner in the semi-finals.
Three NCS juniors, GU13s Isabella Tang and Trinity Moshi and BU11 Eric Tang, were selected to represent Team USA in the British Junior Open, considered the top annual junior tournament in the world.
Isabella and Trinity took 7th and 9th place in a draw of 48 of the world's top girls, an incredible finish. Eric took 6th place in a draw with over 40 of the top boy's players.
Congratulations to all three of them for their selection to Team USA and their top 10 finishes!
Congratulations also to Ronny Vlassaks, the Squash On Fire Director of Squash, for his selection as a Team USA coach for the BU15s competing in this tournament.
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 ››
National Capital Squash (NCS) is pleased to announce a scholarship program to encourage high school varsity or club teams to participate in the US SQUASH 2019 National High School Championships.
The High School Championships offers divisions for teams at all skill levels. Even if your team has never played in a team tournament, you will be placed in a division that should provide good competition.
There are up to two scholarships for up to two teams. Each scholarship would be for up to $1500 to pay for entry fees and a portion of other expenses.
Here are the eligibility requirements:
The school has not sent any team to any prior US SQUASH High School Championship.
The team must have played team matches recorded in the US SQUASH database against other teams (ideally, at least four such matches prior to the seeding of the High School Championship).
Combined Reporting from US Squash and National Capital Squash
Team USA ended its 2018 Pan American Junior Championships campaign by claiming bronze medals in both the girls’ and boys’ team competitions June 23, 2018 at the Capitol Squash Center in Brasilia, Brazil.
The U.S. delegation returned home with a total of five medals, including the girls’ and boys team bronzes.
Liam Rotzoll (right) celebrates bronze medal with Team USA teammates in Brazil.
The boys’ team, including National Capital Squash Junior Liam Rotzoll, outperformed their eight seeding by making a surprise run to the semifinals. The U.S. boys clinched a spot in the semis with of an upset over four seeds Mexico in the quarterfinals. The boys eventually fell against a strong Canadian team in the semifinals, consigning the U.S. to bronze medals.
Prior to the team championship, Liam competed in the individual event. … Continue Reading ››
