No . 9 Virginia Captures 7-2 Road Win Against No. 8 George Washington
WASHINGTON – The No. 9 Virginia men’s squash team (5-0) captured a win in its first road match of the season, defeating No. 8 George Washington (1-1), 7-2, at the Matthew J. Grossman Squash Courts on Friday (Nov. 15).
The contested match against the Colonials saw six out of the nine matchups go into extra games with the Cavaliers winning five of those matches.
Virginia also won the men’s matchup for the Washington-Jefferson Cup, an annual rivalry between the Cavaliers and Colonials that was established during the 2016-17 season and includes postdated winners through the 2013-14 season. The winner is determined by a cumulative score for both the men’s and women’s matches.
“It’s been a great week for the men, beating Navy for the first time on Wednesday, and GW for the very first time on their home courts,” head coach Mark Allen said. “It was great to see our first-years rise to the occasion and fight so hard for their wins. We had five of them in tonight’s starting line-up – they all won and were responsible for giving us an assailable 4-0 lead, which became a massive factor in the team’s overall win. We are all looking forward to next weekend’s trip up north to play Princeton, Yale and Trinity, where we hope to ride this momentum.”
Omar El Torkey (New Cairo, Egypt) recorded a 3-0 win in position two for the first point in the match. The freshman defeated Salim Khan 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 to put the Cavaliers on the board. Freshman Cullen Little (Baltimore, Md.) followed with a 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10 victory in position six against David Varela as freshman Teddy Durfee (Bedford, N.Y.) captured a 9-11, 5-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9 come-from-behind win over Lucas Stauffer in position eight to move UVA to a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Aly Hussein (Cairo, Egypt) went 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 against Mohammad Al-Terki in position one as junior William Braff (Locust Valley, N.Y.) clinched the match with a 11-8, 3-11, 11-5, 11-2 win over Juan Laguna in position seven.
The Colonials recorded back-to-back wins in positions five and three, before freshman Peter Miller (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) captured Virginia’s sixth point with a 7-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-4, 11-5 score against Ian Blatchford in position nine. Sophomore Patrick McElroy (Brookline, Mass.) topped Karim Thabet 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3 to close the match.
Tonight’s win aids the Cavaliers in their quest in winning the Washington-Jefferson Cup in back-to-back seasons. The women’s match between the Cavaliers and Colonials is Nov. 19 in Washington.
The Cavalier men will return on Nov. 22 as the team travels to No. 4 Princeton for a 4 p.m. match.
No. 9 Virginia def. No. 8 George Washington 7-2
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 8, 1, 7, 5, 3, 9, 4
1 | Aly Hussein (UVA) def. Mohammad Al-Terki (GW) 11-2, 11-6, 11-5
2 | Omar El Torkey (UVA) def. Salim Khan (GW) 11-4, 11-7, 11-3
3 | Jamie Oakley (GW) def. Will Holey (UVA) 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6
4 | Patrick McElroy (UVA) def. Karim Thabet (GW) 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3
5 | Inaki DeLarrauri (GW) def. Glenn Yates (UVA) 11-8, 18-16, 13-11
6 | Cullen Little (UVA) def. David Varela (GW) 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10
7 | William Braff (UVA) def. Juan Laguna (GW) 11-8, 3-11, 11-5, 11-2
8 | Teddy Durfee (UVA) def. Lucas Stauffer (GW) 9-11, 5-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9
9 | Peter Miller (UVA) def. Ian Blatchford (GW) 7-11, 11-5, 11-13, 11-4, 11-5
Exh | Matthew Katz (UVA) def. Abbas Saeed (GW) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7