The first annual CSA National Collegiate Club Team Squash Championships took place on Saturday and Sunday, February 19-20, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia. 27 teams participated in the Co-Ed competition across three divisions while five teams were able to come together in the Women’s Division.
The Specter Center was jam-packed from early Saturday through Sunday evening with eager club team players from across the country getting their first taste of Club Team Championship competition. By the end of the event on Sunday, four teams had walked away with trophies while many more had great experiences and lasting memories.
Chaffee Cup – Men’s/Co-Ed Club Team National Championship
Georgetown University, the overall third-ranked team in the Co-Ed competition, earned the Chaffee Cup, the Men’s/Co-Ed Club Team Championship, with a sterling performance over the two day event.
In the quarterfinal round, Georgetown cruised past a well-organized Northeastern University squad, the 6-seed, by an 8-1 scoreline. The surprise quarterfinal winner was the seventh seed, Cornell University, whose club team was taking full advantage of its first chance at sanctioned tournament play within the CSA. Top seeded University of Michigan, fresh off an undefeated regular season, and 4-seed University of Chicago also won their quarterfinal matches.
In the semifinals, Georgetown ended Cornell’s cinderella run using its strength at the top of the lineup. On the other side of the bracket, Chicago’s depth and experience proved to be just enough to upset Michigan, whose hopes of an undefeated run to the title were dashed two steps from the finish line.
In the Chaffee Cup final on Sunday, Georgetown jumped out to a crucial 3-0 lead after the first wave of matches and then worked quickly to build the cushion they would not relinquish. Victories in the top six positions, where Georgetown’s strength was all season long, were the key to their Championship victory. All credit to co-ed finalist Chicago, which faced some adversity on the way to the final and featured two women – Tara Chugh at No. 6 and Emily Ruan at No. 7 – who went 3-0 on the weekend.
Women’s Club Team National Championship
In a competition decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boston College women’s club team emerged victorious from the five-team round robin format. BC had a few disappointments throughout the regular season, but when it really counted, they showed up and performed as they knew they could.
In compiling a 4-0 record on their way to the championship, Boston College only lost a total of 6 games. Their closest match came against the third-seeded Bucknell University squad, another experienced and well-organized team who clamored all year for playing opportunities like the tournament this weekend.
Bucknell ended up finishing third behind Boston College and Northeastern University, who compiled an impressive 3-1 record of their own. Boston University and Fordham University rounded out the competition in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
University of Pennsylvania’s club team, certainly feeling comfortable in their home city and maybe even feeling the energy from their home courts down the street, shocked the Serues Cup draw as the sixth seed to win the trophy in their first season under the CSA umbrella.
Penn’s win was the only upset of the first round as top seed University of Richmond, second-seeded Stanford University, and four-seed University of California-Berkeley all maintained their seeding.
Unlike Georgetown’s win in the Chaffee cup, Penn used the strength of its depth to overcome an always-challenging Stanford side in the first semifinal. Key wins in positions 6 through 9 laid the groundwork for a 6-3 victory. The other semifinal found a short-handed Richmond side carry through to the final on tie-breaker criteria.
In the final, it was Penn’s depth again that proved to be the deciding factor. Richmond, playing with only eight players and in honor of a fallen friend back home, did everything it could with three wins at the top of the ladder. But wins for Penn at numbers 4 through 8 and a default at No. 9 were what Penn needed to capture their first title.
Eleven teams entered the Hawthorn Cup draw vying for a title and 17th place in the Men’s/Co-Ed standings. Indiana University, on the backs of a revitalized club under new leadership, earned the championship as the third seed, taking out top-seeded Northwestern in Sunday’s final.
The Hoosiers almost didn’t even make it out of the quarterfinals against local rival Notre Dame, but a key five-game win at the No. 2 position clinched a semifinal berth. In the 2-versus-3 match-up with Lehigh University, it was the No. 3 and No. 8 players who came through in the clutch to send Indiana to the final after another 5-4 win. In what may have been the match of the weekend, Indiana’s Shiv Kapur outlasted Lehigh’s Luke Saviano 21-19 in the fifth game to secure the victory.
Although they were at the same event in early November, Indiana and Northwestern did not meet this season until Sunday’s Hawthorn Cup final. Northwestern jumped out to a 2-1 lead thanks to wins at No. 1 and No. 4, but in what might have been the vital momentum shifter, Indiana’s No. 9 salvaged his match with a five-game win. From there, Indiana could not be stopped, winning five of the last six matches on their way to the title.
Additional Photos
Photos captured by CSA’s photographer Sofija Singer will gradually be uploaded to the following page and will be available for download.
2022 CSA National Collegiate Club Team Championship Photos
