Squash: Both Cavalier squads open season with wins over Columbia

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 6 Virginia men’s squash team opened the season with a 6-3 win against No. 8 Columbia, while the sixth-ranked UVA women’s team won 9-0 against the No. 9 Lions on Saturday at the McArthur Squash Center.

On the men’s side, JP Tew, Jose Juan Torres Lara and Ewan Harris each picked up 3-0 victories at positions two, three and eight. Graduate student Karim Elbarbary and freshman Nathan Rosenzweig both won 3-1, while senior Evan Hajek gutted out a 3-2 victory at position nine.

This was Virginia’s first victory over Columbia since the 2019-20 season and just the second ever in seven meetings.

Elbarbary made his UVA debut at the top of the ladder. Elbarbary graduated from Princeton in May and played at No. 1 for the Tigers.

Three of the Cavaliers’ four first-years made their collegiate debuts: Juan Jose Torres Lara, Nathan Rosenzweig and Ewan Harris, all picking up their first collegiate victories as well.

For the women’s squad, the Cavaliers won all nine positions by 3-0 scores. Freshmen Maria Min, Maryam Mian, and Claire Pellegrino each picked up their first career wins as Cavaliers.

This is Virginia’s fifth straight win against the Lions. It was also Virginia’s first time sweeping all nine positions against Columbia.

Saturday’s win was Virginia’s second-ever 9-0 victory against an Ivy League opponent, matching a 9-0 win against Dartmouth in 2021.

Three of Virginia’s four first-years made their collegiate debuts in the match.

FROM HEAD COACH MARK ALLEN

“That was a really confident start by the women today. Columbia was missing a couple of key players, but you still have to go out and take full advantage of the situation – and we certainly did. Shout out to our first years that debuted today: Maria Min, Maryam Mian & Claire Pellegrino, who all played beautifully and got their UVA squash careers off to a flying start.

“The team faces a much tougher test against Yale tomorrow – but the dominating performance today means they will all be going into their games with fresh legs tomorrow, so they have every chance of scoring another great win.”

UP NEXT

Both the Cavalier squads are back at home Sunday to take on Yale.

MEN’S RESULTS

No. 6 Virginia 6, No. 8 Columbia 3

1 | Karim Elbarbary (VA) def. Arhan Chandra (CU) 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 12-10
2 | JP Tew (VA) def. Franklyn Smith (CU) 11-4, 11-9, 11-3
3 | Juan Jose Torres (VA) def. Yusuf Sheikh (CU) 11-7, 11-9, 11-8
4 | Thomas Soltanian (CU) def. Maxwell Velazquez (VA) 11-3, 11-7, 11-6
5 | Zach Nam (CU) def. Dylan Moran (VA) 14-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9
6 | Paarth Ambani (CU) def. Petr Nohel (VA) 3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7
7 | Nathan Rosenzweig (VA) def. Imad Athar (CU) 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5
8 | Ewan Harris (VA) def. Gonzalo De La Mora (CU) 11-8, 11-1, 11-2
9 | Evan Hajek (VA) def. Adam Goad (CU) 12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 12-14, 11-6

WOMEN’S RESULTS

No. 6 Virginia 9, No. 9 Columbia 0

1 | Meagan Best (VA) def. Aleeza Khan (CU) 11-4, 11-2, 11-1
2 | Lina Tammam (VA) def. Amal Izhar (CU) 11-6, 11-1, 11-5
3 | Maria Min (VA) def. Eva Salzman (CU) 11-4, 11-1, 11-3
4 | Maryam Mian (VA) def. Andreea Ghiorghisor (CU) 11-5, 11-6, 11-4
5 | Maureen Foley (VA) def. Sophia Hu (CU) 11-5, 11-6, 11-5
6 | Clare Minnis (VA) def. Eugenia Li (CU) 11-7, 11-9, 11-6
7 | Nina Hashmi (VA) def. Advita Sharma (CU) 11-6, 11-9, 11-6
8 | Claire Pellegrino (VA) def. Renee Chan (CU) 11-4, 11-6, 11-1
9 | Caroline Pellegrino (VA) def. Shaivi Rau (CU) 11-8, 11-0, 11-1