Two NCS Junior Teams Compete at the 2024 National Interscholastic Team Squash Championships

Congratulations to the two NCS junior squash teams that were the first from our area to compete at the National Interscholastic Team Squash Championships. This year’s tournament, which occurred last month, was held at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, the location for future championships too. Both NCS teams competed in the top division, with the District Squash girls’ team finishing fourth nationally after defeating, by a 5-2 margin, a higher-seeded team from Greenwich, Connecticut. The team consisted of Radha Vadlamani (#1), Willa Haberl, Devan Chopra, Gabriella Bitar, Mariam Masoud, Lara Sheth, and Sophia Zafar. The boys’ team, named “Butternut Squash,” had many tight matches, taking ninth place after defeating Pingry in the last match by a 5-2 score. Two of the teams five-match wins went to five games. The seven players on the team were: Dartagnan Rastogi (#1), Oskar Brown, Ibrahim Masoud, Vincent Gledhill, Neel Sethi, John Bitar, and Roshan Gill. This … Continue Reading ››

Silver Tournament Report: Ibrahim Masoud Wins First Silver Title, Sana Repeats

There were three Silver tournaments in our region during the last month. At the Woodberry Forest Junior Silver last weekend, Ibrahim Masoud cruised to the BU15 final, then promptly lost the first two games. He recovered to win the last three by scores of 8, 6, 3 to win his first-ever Silver tournament. Oskar Brown took third place, and Mariam Masoud reached the GU15 final. Arman Sana notched his second consecutive silver title in BU17 at the St. James Pro Bowl Junior Silver. Aleksei Pilling reached the final of BU13. Oskar Brown reached the BU15 final by knocking out the number one seed in a nail-biter of a match, winning with scores of (10), 7, (8), 14, and 11. Unfortunately, he fell in the final in five games. Jaiden Saran reached the Play Squash Academy Junior Silver BU17 finals after triumphing in a tough five-game semifinal 10, (9), (4), 10, 7. He … Continue Reading ››

NCS Girls Account for a Record 25% of the GU17 Draw at the Mid-Atlantic JCT

NCS girls accounted for a record 25% of the GU 17 draw at the Mid-Atlantic Junior Championships (JCT), which were held in Charlottesville. This tournament is one of just five national championship-level tournaments used to select Team USA, and attracts the most elite juniors nationally. Playing up an age group in GU 17, Isabella Tang reached the final without dropping a game. She pushed the winner in four tight games, showing substantial improvement compared to her previous match against the same opponent in October. She reached her first-ever #1 USA ranking in GU 17. Calla Yim reached her second career JCT quarterfinal to score 2600 ranking points and maintain her #7 highest-ever USA ranking. Playing in her first year as a GU 17, Makeda Moshi set a personal best 11-12 finish in that age group. She took a game off a player ranked #6 in the USA and pushed her to 11-9 scores … Continue Reading ››

Exclusive Member Discount on Pro Squash Tickets to the Squash On Fire Open, Feb. 14-18

The Squash On Fire Open, a PSA Pro Tour event, comes to town in February and National Capital Squash (NCS) members have exclusive access to discounted tickets. Entrants include Belgian Tinne Gilis (world #8), Victor Crouin (world #11), Sabrina Sobhy (world #15), Shahjahan Khan (US #1) Todd Harrity (US #2 and world #51), former world #1 James Willstrop, and 16-year-old sensation Amina Orfi (world #16). Come out to support several DC locals as they open their campaigns! Squash On Fire and University Club coach Ineta Hopton (world #55) faces Egypt's Menna Hamed (world #65). Ineta will be followed onto court by Mark Broekman, a long time fixture on the DC squash scene and Wakefield School's High School coach, as he faces India's Velavan Senthilkumar (world #63). Danielle Ray also makes another step in her comeback from surgeries, this time against Egyptian Haya Ali (world #60). Tickets available here. Check your email for … Continue Reading ››

Hollander Takes SnoBall SloBall Crown

Zach Hollander and Miles Brown each dropped just one game on the way to the Singles A final at the University Club Jan. 7. So it came as no surprise the last match was a closely contested one, with Hollander winning in four games, closing out the final game 16-14. Ben Hughes took the Singles B trophy after prevailing in five-game, quarterfinal, four-game semi, and then 11-9 in the fifth game in the final. Fernando Vasquez won in four games over Billy Rielly to capture the Singles C title.

PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPS SPONSORSHIP

National Capital Squash (NCS) is pleased to announce a sponsorship program to encourage public high school varsity or club teams to continue annual participation in the US SQUASH National High School Championships. The High School Championships offers divisions for teams at all skill levels.  Your team will be placed in a division that should provide good competition. There are up to two sponsorships for up to two teams.  Each sponsorship would be for up to $1,200 to pay for entry fees and a portion of other expenses. Here are the eligibility requirements:
  • 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).
  • A team must have at least seven players.  The players do not all have to be of high school age, but must be enrolled at a school that has a … Continue Reading ››

A Unique Opportunity to Play Junior Team Squash

If you’ve never competed on a junior squash team, now is your chance. You’ll likely find team squash is fun and a great experience. If you hope to play in college someday, this will give you a taste of playing on a team. Now is a great time to assemble a team. The National Capital Squash (NCS) Board just approved a new sponsorship of high school teams to compete in the US Squash National Interscholastic Team Squash Championships. This event is open only to teams with students who attend a school without a squash team. Teams that combine players from two or more schools in the NCS district may receive the sponsorship. Seven players play each match, so most teams use a roster of eight players. Teams are placed in divisions and seeded by skill level, so teams get competitive matches. The Team Championships are the weekend of February 10 at the Specter Center … Continue Reading ››

Three NCS Juniors Set Personal Bests at Philly Area Gold

Lucas Bitar battled through two five-game matches in the quarters and semis and reached his first Gold final yesterday at the Episcopal Academy Junior Gold in the Philadelphia area. Indira Moshi took third place in the GU19 division. Ali Mansi-Schmitt set a personal best 9th place finish at a BU13 Gold. Playing in his first BU13 Gold, Zayd Mansi-Schmitt finished 11-12, a solid result in a strong draw. Grinding through six matches, Arman Sana also set a personal best 17th place BU17 Gold finish, taking the final match 10, 8, 10.

Three NCS Juniors Finish in Top 16 at the British Junior Open

Three NCS juniors, GU15s Akaisha Bhatia, Trinity Moshi, and Isabella Tang were selected to represent Team USA in the British Junior Open, considered the top annual junior tournament with age divisions in the world. All three pulled major upsets and finished ahead of their seeding in their 64-player draw. Tang (#9/16) shocked the #3/4 seed in the Round of 16 with her four-game win, helping Team USA set a new record of 16 British Junior Open quarterfinalists. She finished in eighth place. Bhatia and Moshi (both #17/32 seeds) dispatched a #9/16 seed in the second round in lopsided matches. Bhatia won 5, (9), 4, 2 and Moshi triumphed 7, 5, 5. Both of them again beat #9/16 seeds in the 13th-place bracket. Their last match was against each other, with Bhatia prevailing in four games to take 13th place. NCS sponsored each player to assist in defraying a portion of their expenses to compete … Continue Reading ››

NCS Juniors Excel at US Junior Open and in National Level Tournaments in November and December

For those members unfamiliar with junior tournaments, the US Junior Open (USJO) is one of the top three tournaments in the world by strength of the draw. Most draws have nearly 128 players. A US player may not enter if not ranked in the top 100 and only the best 48 US players who apply gain entry. There are only five US Junior Championship Tournaments (JCT) per year, and only the top 32 players who enter each division get to compete. Draws are usually similar in strength to the US Junior Championships at the end of the season. Gold Tournaments attract many JCT-level players, and most weekends in season there is one Gold-level tournament somewhere in the nation. Draws are limited to the top 32 who apply. Top USJO Finishes Isabella Tang reached the GU15 final at the US Junior Open, an especially remarkable accomplishment given that it was her first year as a … Continue Reading ››