Harvard’s Saran Nghiem and Cornell’s Veer Chotrani earned the National Collegiate Women’s and Men’s Individual Championships, respectively, on Sunday afternoon at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia. Nghiem overcame teammate Marina Stefanoni while Chotrani stopped defending champion Mohamed Sharaf of Trinity.

From the outset, it appeared that Stefanoni would take a relatively straight road to the championship taking the first 2 games. Nghiem responded well in Game 3 and Game 4 tying the score at 2-2. At 8-8 in Game 5, Nghiem forced the pressure on her teammate Stefanoni taking match ball 10-9 and ultimately winning the match. Nghiem, the 7th seed, pulled 3 upsets in a row to earn her first National title.

The men’s finalists jumped right into action following the women’s final. Chotrani and Sharaf showed great poise and control over the course of the 4 games. Sharaf won the first game with confidence, but Chotrani recovered well taking Game 2 and Game 3. Chotrani closed out the match in Game 4 11-8. This win is Chotrani’s first National title.

All finals results from the Holleran (women’s) and Molloy (men’s) Divisions are listed below, along with links to the full draws. Each winner of the Holleran and Molloy Divisions earns a selection to the All-America Second Team.

Winners (Main) by Division

Pool Trophy (A Division)
Veer Chotrani (Cornell)

Ramsay Cup (A Division)
Saran Nghiem (Harvard)

Molloy North
Syan Singh (Cornell)

Molloy South
Abdelrahman Nassar (Trinity)

Molloy East
Tad Carney (Yale)

Molloy West
Max Forster (Yale)

Holleran North 
Gigi Yeung (Yale)

Holleran South
Emma Trauber (Princeton)

Holleran East
Lucie Stefanoni (Harvard)

Holleran West
Lujan Palacios (Trinity)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) men’s squash team, led by Head Coach Theirry Lincou, is the chosen recipient of the 2024 Sloane Award for team sportsmanship. The College Squash Association (CSA) announced the award recipient on Saturday, March 9 prior to the Ramsay Cup semifinal at the 2024 CSA National Collegiate Individual Championships in Philadelphia.

This is the second time that MIT has received the Sloane Award with the team also earning the award in 2019 under Lincou’s leadership. MIT finished a successful season this year by ending the season ranked 16th in the country.

Lincou expresses the honor it is “to be voted by our peers as the recipient of the Sloane Award. After receiving the Award in 2019, I am extremely delighted and proud to see that the Team continues to carry itself and compete with respect, honesty and fairplay. I believe that it is important to win and and lose gracefully and I am happy to have the players representing MIT the best possible way. Big thanks to our seniors and captains for helping maintain that Team culture”.

The Sloane Award is given annually to the men’s team exhibiting a high level of sporting behavior. The team characteristics this award honors may be best described in the words of former Williams coach, Clarence Chaffee: “a sense of esprit de corps, of sportsmanship, of hard but fair play, of being gracious in victory and defeat, and enjoying the camaraderie and pride of being part of a team.” Coaches discussed with their players which team they felt is deserving of the award. Coaches were then polled for nominations and then voting was conducted online leading up to the team championships.

An award for team sportsmanship was first given in 1981. The team that won the award that year — Williams College — was coached by Sean Sloane. A nationally ranked hardball player, Sloane had been coaching both squash and tennis at Williams since the 1970s, and his teams were known for their spirit and sportsmanship. Sloane eventually left Williams to serve as the Director of the USTA’s Education and Recreation Program, but when he returned to coaching in 1997 at Haverford College, his teams continued to be recognized for their sportsmanship. The CSA renamed the award in Sloane’s honor in 2005.

Naval Academy was the other team receiving the most votes in the coaches’ poll for the 2024 Sloane Award.

The 2024 College Squash Association (CSA) National Collegiate Individual Championships continued on Saturday with remaining players competing in semifinal or consolation semifinal matches.

In the Pool Trophy competition, top seed Veer Chotrani (Cornell) secured his spot in the final after defeating opponent Nicholas Spizzirri (Penn) in 3 games. Chotrani heads into the final undefeated in the 2023-2024 season where he will face Mohammed Sharaf (Trinity). Sharaf defeated Siow Yee Xian (Yale) earning his spot in the Pool Trophy final. Sharaf dropped to Chotrani in the regular season 3-0 and will look to not only return the favor tomorrow, but also defend his National title.

In Ramsay Cup competition, top seed Marina Stefanoni (Harvard) is on a quest to earn her first National title. Today, in the semifinals, she took down Margot Prow (Drexel) in an effortless 3 games. In Sunday’s final, she will face teammate Saran Nghiem (Harvard), a player making her first appearance at the Ramsay Cup final. Nghiem battled through 5 games against Zeina Zein (Princeton) to earn a spot in the final tomorrow.

Finalists (Main) by Division

Pool Trophy (A Division)
Veer Chotrani (Cornell) vs. Mohammed Sharaf (Trinity)

Ramsay Cup (A Division)
Marina Stefanoni (Harvard) vs. Saran Nghiem (Harvard)

Molloy North
Lewis Anderson (St. Lawrence) vs. Syan Singh (Cornell)

Molloy South
Abdelrahman Nassar (Trinity) vs. Salaheldin Eltorgman (Western)

Molloy East
Avi Agarwal (Princeton) vs. Tad Carney (Yale)

Molloy West
Max Forster (Yale) vs. Lachlan Sutton (Yale)

Holleran North 
Molly Chadwick (Princeton) vs. Gigi Yeung (Yale)

Holleran South
Emma Trauber (Princeton) vs. Erica McGillicuddy (Columbia)

Holleran East
Lucie Stefanoni (Harvard) vs. Janna Ashmawy (Trinity)

Holleran West
Lujan Palacios (Trinity) vs. Alysa Ali (Cornell)

The 2024 College Squash Association (CSA) National Collegiate Individual Championships commenced on Friday with 160 men’s and women’s players in action at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.

All players were guaranteed two matches in the double elimination format. By the end of the day on Friday, all winners progress to semifinals and consolation semifinals on Saturday.

Semifinalists (Main) by Division

Pool Trophy (A Division)
Veer Chotrani – Cornell, Nicholas Spizzirri – Penn, Siow Yee Xian – Yale, Mohamed Sharaf – Trinity

Ramsay Cup (A Division)
Marina Stefanoni – Harvard, Margot Prow – Drexel, Zeina Zein – Princeton, Saran Nghiem – Harvard

Molloy North
Lewis Anderson – St. Lawrence, Alastair Cho – Princeton, AbelRahman Lasheen – Rochester, Syan Singh – Cornell

Molloy South
Abdelrahman Nassar – Trinity, Yuri Pollak Pelbart – Drexel, Aaron Liang – Cornell, Salaheldin Eltorgman – Western

Molloy East
John Paul Tew – Virginia, Avi Agarwal – Princeton, Tad Carney – Yale, Shaurya Bawa – Columbia

Molloy West
Liam Rotzoll – Harvard, Max Forster – Yale, Lachlan Sutton – Yale, Youssef Bastawy – Drexel

Holleran North 
Madeleine Hylland – Trinity, Molly Chadwick – Princeton, Sanya Vats – Drexel, Gigi Yeung – Yale

Holleran South
Emma Trauber – Princeton, Clare Minnis – Virginia, Erica McGillicuddy – Columbia, Yuvna Gupta – Stanford

Holleran East
Lucie Stefanoni – Harvard, Maureen Foley – Virginia, Janna Ashmawy – Trinity, Franka Vidovic – Penn

Holleran West
Charlotte Bell – Princeton, Lujan Palacios – Trinity, Alysa Ali – Cornell, Andrea Lee Jia Qi – Colby

Philadelphia – March 8, 2024 – (College Squash Association), the CSA, the governing body overseeing men’s and women’s varsity intercollegiate squash in the United States, is pleased to announce the appointment of Harry Smith as its Commissioner.

Smith’s appointment comes at a time of significant momentum for the organization. This year, the CSA, which fosters national intercollegiate squash competition to provide avenues for athletic excellence and sportsmanship, celebrated its 100th season of college squash and introduced three game-changing advances.

With Smith serving as Interim Commissioner, the CSA rolled out a new and widely acclaimed team championship format that brought the men and women together to compete for their respective cups over the same weekend at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center. The hotly-contested national championship titles were streamed live for the first time ever by premier provider SquashTV, helping capture two historic wins by the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s and Trinity College’s women’s teams. Finally, the CSA raised a record-breaking $107,000 and grew its donor base to over 200 individuals, thanks to a robust annual campaign that included special events hosted alongside the team championships and the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York City.

Margaret Gerety, the CSA Board Chair, said, “I am privileged to remove Harry’s interim title and congratulate him on an exceptional season by naming him as CSA Commissioner. Harry and Assistant Commissioner Abbie Wingerd will lead the CSA during a pivotal moment for the collegiate game. With college squash likely to produce several Olympians in LA2028, the CSA is committed to supporting existing student-athletes and teams while also advancing its goals of expanding to 40 women’s and 40 men’s programs by 2030”.

Harry Smith came to the CSA after ten years with US Squash, where he served in many capacities, including Senior Director of Junior Development. Over his tenure at US Squash, Smith supported the accredited tournament structure nationally, focusing on improving the tools available for tournament directors and assisting with implementing national championships. Under Smith’s direction, US Squash implemented best practices and a renewed emphasis on sportsmanship. Smith played #1 for Colby College and captained its squash team in 2012.

The College Squash Association Board of Managers
Margaret Gerety (Chair)
John Nimick (Chair Emeritus)
Will Carlin (Vice Chair)
Richard Chin
Edgardo Gonzalez
Sarah Hartley
Malcolm Miller (Treasurer)
Mark Allen (Coach Representative)
Mark Lewis (Coach Representative)
Mike McDonald (Coach Representative)
Erin Robson (Coach Representative)
Kevin Klipstein (US Squash Representative / Ex Officio)

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About the College Squash Association
The College Squash Association (CSA) is the governing body overseeing men’s and women’s intercollegiate varsity squash in the United States. In May 2017, CSA formally organized as a nonprofit organization led by a founding board of directors. In December 2022, CSA became an independently-managed subsidiary of US Squash. This new corporate structure formally affiliates squash’s national and collegiate governing bodies, creating a united pathway to sustained success for squash on campus and robust growth for squash overall.

Trinity College won the Howe Cup over third seed Princeton this afternoon at the 2024 CSA National Collegiate Team Championships. This marks Trinity’s first National Title since 2014.

The key to Trinity’s win was their determination after going down 2-1 in the first round of matches. In the second round of matches, Kara Lincou (Trinity) and Katherine Glaser (Princeton) battled in the only 5 gamer of the afternoon. Both teams sat on the edge of their seats during this pivotal moment of the championship. Tied at 2-2, Lincou clinched the 14-12 win pushing Trinity ahead of Princeton 4-2.

Hannah Chukwu (Trinity) followed Lincou on the East Court and secured the fifth game securing the National Title for Trinity.

Today, the College Squash Association crowned a new winner for the first time in 10 years surrounded by a roaring crowd. The energy was one of the most electric moments in college squash and all credit goes to all the teams on a riveting and fairly played championship. Congratulations to the teams on a fantastic season.

For the first time in program history, the University of Pennsylvania are crowned National Champions (Potter Cup)! There have only been five Potter Cup champions in the CSA, Harvard University, Princeton University, Trinity College, United States Naval Academy and Yale University. Today, the College Squash Association named welcomed University of Pennsylvania to that list.

On Sunday morning, top seed Trinity and third seed Penn took the courts at the 2024 CSA National Collegiate Team Championships eager to bring home the Potter Cup. The men did not disappoint. Penn went up 4-1 early on, however, Trinity did not back down. In an exhilarating match, every point had the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Simultaneously, the West Court and Court 6 at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center featured several deciding match balls. The crowd watched moving side to side in order to not miss the big moment. While Khamal Cumberbatch (Trinity) and Roger Alber Baddour (Penn) battled it out on Court 6 in one of the most intense matches of the weekend, Omar Hafez (Penn) clinched the win for Penn on the West Court in a thrilling 13-11 fourth game.

Today, will go down in CSA history naming Penn the National Champion for the first time. The energy this weekend was one of the most electric moments in college squash and all credit goes to all the teams on a riveting and fairly played championship. Congratulations to the teams on a fantastic season.

For the first time in 10 years the College Squash Association (CSA) will crown a new Howe Cup champion. Harvard women’s reign has come to an end after Princeton defeated them this afternoon in the semifinals. In a close 5-4 match, the Tigers secured a spot in the Howe Cup finals against top-seed Trinity. In the regular season, Princeton fell to Trinity 6-3 and with both teams eager to earn the National Title, anything is up for grabs in the 2024 CSA National Collegiate Team Championships.

Earlier this season, the Princeton men defeated Penn resulting in a shared Ivy-League Title. Today, Penn returned the favor upsetting Princeton. With the win, Penn will advance to the finals where they will face top-seed Trinity. Trinity just narrowly clinched a spot in the finals after a close match against Yale. Both Penn and Trinity will rest up this evening after battling through 5-4 matches this morning.

Howe Cup
Main
(1) Trinity def. (5) Yale 8-1
(3) Princeton def. (2) Harvard 5-4

1st Consolation 
(10) Drexel def. (9) Columbia 9-0
(11) Dartmouth def. (12) Tufts 6-3

2nd Consolation 
(4) Penn def. (8) Cornell 8-1
(6) Stanford def. (7) Virginia 6-3

Potter Cup
Main
(1) Trinity def. (5) Yale 5-4
(3) Penn def. (2) Princeton 5-4

1st Consolation
(7) Cornell def. (9) Dartmouth 7-1
(11) Western def. (12) Tufts 6-3

2nd Consolation
(4) Harvard def. (8) Drexel 5-4
(6) Columbia def. (10) Virginia 5-4

Follow the draws and join the electric environment! Livestream is available through SquashTV.