New York, NY — Columbia’s meteoric rise continued last season. After finishing the 2013 – 2014 season ranked 10th, the Lions concluded last season ranked 4th in the nation. In doing so, the team received the Men’s College Squash Association’s Barnaby Award, presented to the team that improved the most from the previous season. In five seasons as a varsity, Columbia has received the Barnaby Award three times. The Lions also swept the Ivy League awards for Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year. This season, Columbia will have even more expectations. After losing four players to graduation from last season’s Team Championship — including their #1, Ramit Tandon, the 2015 Skillman Award winner — maintaining the top 4 finish could be challenging. However, the squad is expecting two additions to the middle of the line-up. They also know how to win tight matches. Last season, Columbia was four for four in 5-4 matches, which should help them as they face tough matches this season. Look for Columbia to continue their run in the Potter Cup this season.
2014-2015 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 13-4
Final Ranking: 4
Team Championships: 4th in the Potter Cup (A Division)
By the Numbers (From US Squash): 5-4 Matches Won: 4 of 4… Top 3 Win %: 0.8431… Middle 3 Win %: 0.6275… Lower 3 Win %: 0.4706
2015-2016 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Head Coach: Jacques Swanepoel (Barnaby Award; Ivy League Coach of the Year)
Returning Players from Team Championships: 2. Osama Khalifa (2018 – CSA Pool Trophy Finalist, All-Ivy League Team, CSA First Team All-American, Ivy League Rookie of the Year); 3. Rishi Tandon (2017 – CSA Second Team All-American); 4. Seif Ashraf (2018); 6. Josh Sekhar (2017); 8. Arhum Saleem (2018); 10. Jonathan Gill (2017)
Graduated/Non-Returning Players from 2014-2015 Team Championships: 1. Ramit Tandon (2015 – CSA Skillman Award, CSA First Team All-American, Ivy League Player of the Year, All-Ivy League Team); 5. Mohamed Abdel Maksoud (2015); 7. Daniel Saleem (2015 – CSA Scholar Athlete); 9. Alex Nalle (2015); 11. Tarun Nambiar (2015 – CSA Scholar Athlete)
Additions to the 2015-2016 Roster:
- Expected to play in the middle 3: Adham Madi and Carter Robitallie
- Other Additions: Salmaan Amin and Matthew Rebello
Captains: Avinash Reddy, Rishi Tandon, and Osama Khalifa
Team Goals: Repeat or surpass our performance last season
Key Matches: All matches
To read other team previews, please visit the 2015-2016 College Squash Season Previews page.