PHILADELPHIA – The No. 8 Virginia men’s squash team (9-3) recorded its third consecutive win over a top-20 opponent on Saturday (Jan. 18), defeating No. 14 Cornell (3-5), 7-2, in a neutral site match at the Penn Squash Courts in Philadelphia.
 
Virginia jumped out to an early lead with sophomore Will Holey (Greenwich, Conn.) and freshman Cullen Little (Baltimore, Md.) capturing back-to-back wins. Holey defeated Nikhil Iyer 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 in position three, while Little topped Luke Park 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6 in position four.
 
The Big Red recorded a win in position seven, but freshman Aly Hussein (Cairo, Egypt) won against Veer Chotrani 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 in position one and freshman Teddy Durfee (Bedford, N.Y.) defeated Jared Scherl 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 in position nine to move UVA ahead 4-1.
 
Cornell recorded a win in position five to keep the Big Red alive, but freshman Omar El Torkey (New Cairo, Egypt) clinched the match point moments later. El Torkey defeated Charles Culhane 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 in position two for the win.
 
Freshman Peter Miller (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) and senior Toby Hansford (Darien, Conn.) added to the Cavalier victory with wins in positions six and eight, respectively. Miller defeated Illia Presman 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6, while Hansford went 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 against Thomas Mocorrea.
 
“Our matches against Cornell are always very competitive and close, and today was no exception,” head coach Mark Allen said. “Coming off of back-to-back 5-4 wins, it was a good feeling to come away with the win a little earlier today. This was certainly the most complete team performance we’ve turned in thus far this season. The way the team played today should give us a measure of confidence and momentum entering a crucial test against Columbia.”
 
Virginia will return to action on Sunday (Jan. 19), facing Dickinson (4-8) in a 1 p.m. match at the Kline Squash Center in Carlisle, Pa.
 
No. 8 Virginia def. No. 14 Cornell 7-2
Order of Finish (3, 4, 7, 1, 9, 5, 2, 6, 8)
1 | Aly Hussein (UVA) def. Veer Chotrani (C) 11-7, 11-4, 11-5
2 | Omar El Torkey (UVA) def. Charles Culhane (C) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7
3 | Will Holey (UVA) def. Nikhil Iyer (C) 11-5, 11-7, 11-9
4 | Cullen Little (UVA) def. Luke Park (C) 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6
5 | Nicholas Goth Errington (C) def. Glenn Yates (UVA) 12-10, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9
6 | Peter Miller (UVA) def. Illia Presman (C) 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6
7 | Alex Dworetzky (C) def. William Braff (UVA) 11-8, 11-9, 13-11
8 | Toby Hansford (UVA) def. Thomas Mocorrea (C)11-8, 11-3, 11-5
9 | Teddy Durfee (UVA) def. Jared Scherl (C) 11-8, 11-7, 11-5