After a weekend full of outstanding squash and several razor thin results, six teams were crowned champions of their respective conferences. Drexel University women (Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference (MASC)), University of Pennsylvania men (Ivy League), University of Rochester men (Liberty League), St. Lawrence University women (Liberty League), Trinity College men (NESCAC), and University of Virginia women (MASC) all took home the hardware on Sunday.
Ivy League Men’s Championship
The No. 1 overall ranked Penn men’s team needed back-to-back wins during the weekend to clinch the outright Ivy League title and an undefeated regular season. Their first match on Saturday, away at No. 5 Princeton, was one for the ages. Penn managed to outlast Princeton, capturing five of the seven matches that went past three games, including three five-game victories. Those five individual wins clinched the 5-4 victory and set the stage for Sunday’s contest with No. 7 Cornell. On their home courts this time, the Quakers could taste the trophy and made relatively quick work of the Big Red, 9-0.
The championship is the first Ivy League title for the Penn men since 1974 and its first outright title since 1969. It was also their first undefeated regular season in program history, solidifying their position as the No. 1-ranked team going into the Men’s Team Championships in two weeks.
Liberty League Championships
The St. Lawrence women’s team and Rochester men’s team returned to the top of the Liberty League podiums this weekend with undefeated records in the round robin competition. The closest challenge for No. 20 St. Lawrence was their critical 6-3 over No. 21 William Smith on Saturday, including a vital 3-2 win for the Women’s Championship Most Outstanding Player Margaret Fleischner.
Rochester stormed their way to the championship with a 4-0 record, conceding only one individual match during the weekend. This title is the third straight for Rochester and their ninth Liberty League championship overall.
Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference (MASC) Championships
The MASC Championships came down to two exciting 5-4 match-ups on Sunday afternoon in Lancaster, Penn, both contested between Drexel University and University of Virginia. Drexel was the higher seed for both contests, but it was the Virginia men who pulled the upset in the championship final. In another instant classic, the deciding match went to five games, with Virginia’s #4 player, Taha Dinana clinching Virginia’s third MASC title, now called the Holley Cup.
Directly following the men’s championship match, the women jumped on court, and Drexel was able to flip the script. Despite very evenly matched squads, the first and fourth courts were crucial for Drexel’s victory, where the Dragons swept positions 1 and 2, as well as 7 and 8. The title was the second consecutive trophy – now called the Gaynor Cup – for Drexel’s women.
New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men’s Championship
The Trinity College men lost only two individual matches on their way to their 15th NESCAC title during the weekend. Having the good fortune of playing on the home courts, Trinity cruised through the competition, dispatching Hamilton and Bates before facing upstart Bowdoin in Sunday’s final. Bowdoin’s fight and energy was no match for Trinity’s level of skill and experience, as the Bantams rolled to an 8-1 win.
Bowdoin’s team does earn notable mention with their effort from the weekend. The No. 3-seed earned their first trip to the NESCAC Championship match, meaning the second place finish is the highest in their program’s history.
Regular Season Results
- In an important women’s Ivy League showdown, No. 9 Penn overcame visiting No. 8 Cornell by a score of 6-3, solidifying Penn’s case for a final Top-8 ranking.
- A successful round robin took place at the SquashBusters facility on Northeastern University’s campus with 10 teams taking part. Top performing teams included the Boston College women and the Northeastern and Cornell (club) men.
- In two big midwestern rivalry match-ups, Michigan finished an undefeated regular season with a win over Notre Dame, while the University of Chicago upended Northwestern.
- Penn’s co-ed club team was feeling the vibe from their varsity peers and got off to a winning start this year. Richmond and Johns Hopkins earned important wins as well.
Full results from the season so far can be viewed here: Women and Men.
