Thirteen NCS Juniors Win the Scholar Athlete Award

Congratulations to the local juniors who were honored with the US Squash 2024-2025 Scholar Athlete Award: Alaan Javed, First Year Caroline Burg, Junior Connor Bodi, First Year Daniel Antonioli, Sophomore Ellis Chung, Senior John Bitar, Sophomore Kavish Narang, Sophomore Mariam Masoud, Sophomore Oskar Brown, First Year Sohan Kilaru, Sophomore Uma Patnaik, Senior Willa Haberl, Sophomore Zach Ingber, First Year

2025 Mosquito Open Attracts a Record 70 Entrants, Valderrama Wins Title

The University Club’s Mosquito Open continues to draw strong draws in the only summer adult tournament in our area. Nicolas Valderrama dominated the Open “A” division, winning all four of his matches by 3-0 scores. The closest he came to dropping a game was in the quarters, where a player from Ohio pushed him to a 14-12 score in game three. Zach Hollander reached the semis. Alexander Quianzon triumphed in the “B” division, beating Pulkit Parikh in five games where no game was won by more than a three-point margin. Fernando Vasquez reached the semis. Alex Greenspan won the “C” bracket without dropping a game, though Herb Allen made each game closely contested in the final.

National Squash Pro League to Debut in DC May 17

District Inferno vs. Philadelphia Freedom Saturday May 17th, 2025 Doors Open at 5pm – Match Starts at 6pm Squash on Fire, 2233 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 See and root for DC's newest professional franchise—the District Inferno—as they battle the Philadelphia Freedom at Squash On Fire! Some of the finest female athletes in the world will compete in a new and intense team squash match in a unique new format and thrilling atmosphere. Meet the Inferno—World #10 Amanda Sobhy; World #16 Jasmine Hutton; World # 20 Rachel Arnold; World #45 Torrie Malik; World# 47 Marie Stephan and World #67 Lisa Aiken! The National Squash League is a new twist on squash—instead of playing individual matches of best of 5 games with 11 point games, there are three timed periods where each team can substitute players and strategically call 2 minute "Power Plays" where only their team can score. Most points in a timed period wins. … Continue Reading ››

Ten NCS Juniors Gain Entry to US Squash Junior National 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 the NCS juniors who gained entry to this prestigious event! BU19 Sami Garside, who improved 45 ranking spots during the season, also earned the William T. Ketcham Jr. Most Improved Award in his age group for showing extraordinary commitment to the sport while significantly improving their game. Trinity Moshi notched the top finish among NCS juniors by taking third place in GU15, a personal best finish. Christian Keng also scored a personal best and won fifth place in the ultra competitive BU17 division. Makeda Moshi, GU17, sixth place; Akaisha Bhatia, GU17 quarterfinalist; Zachary Ingber, BU17 quarterfinalist; Elise Kang, GU19, 11th-12th; Kian Patnaik, BU15, 13th-16th; Calla Yim, GU19, 17th; Shreya … Continue Reading ››

Eight Promising Juniors Earn Sponsorships

Congratulations to the NCS juniors who earned NCS sponsorships in recognition of their improvement to a national class level of competition or have moved up to a higher level of national competitiveness. These sponsorships are provided for a player’s first national championship at each level available for competition for the U.S. Junior Squash Silver Championships or U.S. Junior Squash Championships. Players who the NCS Junior Committee estimates can compete for a top 10 finish are sponsored for their first U.S. Junior Squash Bronze Championships. Aleksei Pilling BU13; Jonathan Chung BU13; Neel Sethi BU15; Julia Lancaster GU15; Mariam Masoud GU17; Sophia Akbar GU17; Arman Sana BU19; Jaiden Saran BU19

NCS District Championships Winners Crowned

The local championships, which concluded last month, attracted a record 253 entrants and over 370 matches were played. The annual event is largely self-scheduled and played over several months, but the finals were played March 29 at The St. James. Congratulations to the winners of each division:       Skill Levels Josh Taylor—Men Open; Uma Patnaik—Women Open; Jordan Lipp—Men 5.0; Ibrahim Masoud—Men 4.5; Mariam Masoud—Women 4.5; Bo Blair—Men 4.25; Oscar Valdés Viera—Men 4.0; Mariam Masoud—Women 4.0; Oliver Mayers—Men 3.75; Pulkit Parikh—Men 3.5; AJ Copeland—Women 3.5; Beckett Hogan—Men 3.0; Lila Caddell—Women 3.0; Giacomo Salvadore—Men 2.5; Emma Sun—Women 2.5; Yongmei Ye—Women 2.0; Masters; Sergio Lopez—Men 40+; Omar Alvi—Men 50+; Eduardo Rojas Vega—Men 60+; Tawhid Nawaz—Men 70+; Special thanks to David Keating, Ahmar Abbas, and Ben Proshek for their work to organize and run the tournament.

Regency Teams Sweep National Capital Club Team League Titles

The league finals held in April brought a stirring end to a strong fall/winter season for the National Capital Squash league. In the 4.0+/5.0 division, Regency A prevailed over Regency B. While Regency A finished three games ahead of its intra-club rival in the regular season, the final was a tight one, with the four matches split 2-2. Regency A took the title by winning just one more game in the matches than its competitor. The 3.5/4.0 division featured a similarly dramatic end to the season. Though a Regency team again ran away with the regular campaign and their semifinal, Capitol Hill made the favorites work for the title, splitting the four final matches 2-2. Again, the difference came down to a single game. Congratulations to Regency for winning both divisions. All told, a record 135 players participated in at least one match during the season across the two divisions. A total of 109 … Continue Reading ››

Grunberg, Davidson Win US Women’s Masters Titles, Davidson Honored With Sportsmanship Award

NCS members Carole Grunberg and Sarah Davidson won titles at the 2025 U.S. Women’s Masters Championships at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia April 4-6. More than sixty women competed in the U.S. Women’s Masters and Skill Level Championships, which was held as a stand alone event for the second year in a row, and offered skill level draws in addition to the Masters national championships divisions. The second women’s 70+ division ever held saw Washington, DC’s Grunberg claim the title without dropping a game. Davidson earned her first national title by winning a five-game 50+ final 12-10 in the fifth against Portland, Oregon’s Kara Hale. Davidson was honored with the 2025 Women’s Sportsmanship Award during the U.S. Women’s Masters Championships. The Women’s Sportsmanship Award is awarded by the US Squash Women’s Committee to players who have shown exemplary sportsmanship on and off the court. Davidson was introduced by Grunberg, the 2024 … 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 sponsors 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 January 24 at the Specter Center in Philadelphia, and the tournament … Continue Reading ››

High School Champs Sponsorship

National Capital Squash (NCS) is pleased to announce a sponsorship program to encourage high school varsity or club teams to participate in the US SQUASH 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 sponsorship for up to two teams.  Each sponsorship would be for up to $1650 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).
  • A team must have at least seven … Continue Reading ››