The 2025–26 college squash season exploded into action this past weekend. With Ivy League and NESCAC programs officially joining the competition, the schedule was packed from Friday through Sunday—and it delivered.

Across the league, nearly 50 matches were played, marking the first truly full weekend of the season. While it’s still early and teams are continuing to find their footing, the depth, energy, and competitive drama on display made it clear that we’re already in mid-season mode. Several programs notched key early results, young players stepped into major roles, and a handful of matches came down to decisive fifth games.

No. 6 Virginia Men Upset No. 4 Yale

The most significant result of the weekend came from New Haven, where the No. 6 University of Virginia men’s team pulled off a 6-3 upset over No. 4 Yale University. The victory marks the first time in the men’s program history that UVA have defeated a top 4 ranked opponent.

UVA Head Coach Mark Allen reflected on the landmark achievement:
“We had a great start, opening up healthy leads in all 3 of the opening matches, but credit to Yale as they fought back in all of them and the first round of matches seemed to take forever to convert our way. Indeed Rishi mounted an entertaining comeback to keep Yale properly in it going into the second round of matches.

Excellent, hard fought wins from Oscar and Max in the second round took us to four, and at 2-1, 7-1 up, I thought Juan Irisaari, who was playing his own incredible & unique brand of squash, was going to be the player that won as the match overall – but Tad’s never one to give up, and like Rishi he mounted an impressive comeback, to keep the match live going into the final round of matches.

It was a nice moment for second year Nathan Rosenzweig, who after having a marathon 3-2 loss against Dartmouth the day before, was almost rested by the coaches for Sunday’s match – bit he wanted to play and redeem that performance – and he was composed and excellent in his 3-0 win over Jack O’Flynn to give us our 5th match.

JP’s match at the end was a dead rubber, but you wouldn’t have known it as two great competitors went toe to toe, with both very clearly still motivated to get the win for their teams. It was another great battle with JP taking it by the narrowest margins in the 5th.“

Featured Match Recap: Upsets, Gritty Wins, and Dominance

• Women: #13 Tufts win over #10 Columbia in 5-4 Match
  In the most anticipated women’s match, No. 13 Tufts University used their home court advantage to perfection, defeating No. 10 Columbia University in a nail-biting 5-4 victory. The pivotal match, with major top 12 ranking implications, was a back and forth that came down to the wire.

  Tufts’ victory was built on crucial wins from Vharshamithraa Dinesh (#1) and Ella Hill (#3), and a resilient four game comeback from Indira Moshi (#9). The momentum swung on what coach Joe Raho called an “epic match” from Chloe Bergam (#5), who won a clutch 11-9 in the fifth. That set the stage for the ultimate pressure moment: with the team score tied 4-4, Anika Goyal delivered a gutsy four game win to clinch the massive upset for Tufts.

  Tufts Head Coach Joe Raho reflected on the match:
  
  “It was an awesome day for our women’s team. I am pretty sure that this is the first Tufts win over Columbia in the history of the squash program. It was an incredibly close, hard fought match. It was a fantastic team win and a perfect way to start the season.”

  Tufts vs Columbia Scoreboard Here

• Men: #12 Williams College vs. #10 Cornell University
  The No. 10 Cornell men successfully navigated a challenging road trip, defeating No. 17 Middlebury 6-3 before taking down No. 12 Williams 7-2 in the weekend’s featured matchup. Coach Mark Andrew Burke praised his team’s resilience, calling it a “satisfying start to the season.” Notable performances included freshman Edward Thng coming back from a 0-1 deficit against Williams and Youssef Sarhan securing two high quality wins at the No. 1 spot. The team’s grit was epitomized by Vivaan Shah, who, after suffering a lip injury against Middlebury that later required stitches, returned to the court to win his match in five games.

  Williams vs Cornell Scoreboard Here

Around the League: 

• Trinity Celebrates New Facility in Style:
  Trinity College had a weekend to remember, christening the newly opened Kovas Squash Center with the inaugural match followed by the ring ceremony for the 2025 Howe Cup Champions. Both Trinity squads were flawless on court, as the No. 2 men and No. 5 women both posted dominant 9-0 sweeps over the Tufts Jumbos

• Top Seeds Rule the Pennsylvania State Championships:
  At the Pennsylvania State Championships, the top ranked teams left no room for doubt. The No. 1 Penn men swept all their opponents without dropping a single individual match. The No. 8 Drexel men were equally impressive, winning all other matchups convincingly.

  This dominance was mirrored in the women’s competition, where the No. 3 Penn women were just as flawless, securing a perfect record with four 9-0 victories. The No. 9 Drexel women also proved their strength, decisively winning their other matches with their only defeat coming at the hands of their crosstown rivals.

This thrilling weekend has set the tone for the season. The intensity will only rise as the season continues in the coming weeks.

Scores from the Weekend: