Yale Athletics

This weekend, eight members of the men’s (11–4, 3–3 Ivy) and women’s (5–8, 2–4 Ivy) squash teams traveled to the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to compete in the CSA Individual and Doubles Championships. 

Of the men’s team, Siow Yee Xian ’24, Maxwell Orr ’25, Arav Bhagwati ’26 and Nikhil Ismail ’25 competed in the CSA Individual Championships. Xian and Orr competed in the A Division Pool Trophy, while Bhagwati and Ismail competed in the B Division East Molloy Cup. Merritt Wurts ’25 and Taylor Clayton ’25 played in the doubles championship as partners. 

“I think the atmosphere of the whole event is really nice,” Wurts wrote to the News. “It’s very laid back in comparison to the regular season. It’s also a great opportunity to play with one of your friends. Doubles still has the competitive edge but in the end we’re all just there because we enjoy the game.”

Of the women’s team, Elisabeth Ross ’24 played singles in the A Division Ramsay Cup and Whitney Taylor ’26 played singles in the B Division Holleran Cup.  

On Friday, Xian lost in a close 3–2 match against his Princeton University opponent, Karim Elbarbary. Later in the day, he defeated his Rochester opponent, Yash Fadte, 3–0.

Orr fell to his Harvard University opponent, ​​Marwan Tarek, 3–0, but rallied to beat his University of Virginia opponent,​​ Omar El Torkey, 3–1 on the same day. Both Xian and Orr moved on to the consolation semifinals.

“My personal highlight this weekend was upsetting the top seeds as a No. 7 seed, and making the final,” Bhagwati wrote to the News. “Since I was seeded lower, I played with no pressure which allowed me to play freely … playing this tournament has given me a huge confidence boost which I will bring into next season.”

Bhagwati had a strong performance on Saturday, beating his Chatham opponent Sebastian Vaca Sanchez and Cornell University opponent Aaron Liang 3–0, which moved him on to the national semifinals. 

Ismail beat his Colby College opponent Youssif Mostafa 3–0 on Friday, but fell to his St. Lawrence University opponent Lewis Anderson 2–3. 

In their opening match of the doubles bracket, Wurts and Clayton defeated their St. Lawrence opponents Tray Denman and Henry Worden. 

Among the women’s team, Taylor defeated her Middlebury College opponent Lindsey Burnham 3–1, but fell to her Princeton opponent Caroline Spahr 3–0. Taylor finished 5–8 in her draw in the Holleran Cup. Ross fell to both her Harvard opponent Marina Stefanoni and Stanford opponent Si Ma, finishing 13–16 in her draw in the Ramsay Cup. 

On Saturday, Bhagwati, playing individually, and Wurts and Clayton, playing doubles, both beat their opponents. Bhagwati beat his Drexel opponent Jose Andres Lopez 3–2, and Wurts and Clayton beat their Middlebury opponents 3–1. Bhagwati, Wurts and Clayton advanced in their respective divisions.  

Wurts and Clayton won both their matches on Saturday against their Brown University and Middlebury opponents. 

In consultation matches on Saturday, Xian rallied hard to beat his Harvard opponent Ido Burstein 3–1, while Orr fell to his University of Pennsylvania opponent Nathan Tze Bing Kueh 3–1. The next day, Bhagwati competed in the finals for the Molloy East Championship, falling to his St. Lawrence opponent Lewis Anderson 3–1. No. 7 Bhagwati finished second in the Molloy East Championship. 

Wurts and Clayton competed in the doubles semifinals, losing to their Naval Academy opponents Millen Randell and Henry Sparkman 3–1. The Bulldog pair finished 3–4 in the Intercollegiate Doubles Championships. 

“One of the most challenging aspects of Individual Championships is competing after the team season has finished,” assistant coach Tate Miller wrote to the News. “Every one of our players demonstrated perseverance and a strong mindset to give themselves the best chance on court. Seeing the group we brought down to Philadelphia support each other and fight for the All American status is something I truly enjoyed.”

Xian competed in the Pool Trophy consolation finals, ultimately losing to his UPenn opponent Nathan Tze Bing Kueh 3–2.  

The men’s and women’s squash teams have officially finished regular season and tournament play. They will have a short break before they begin practicing and preparing for the 2023-2024 season.