No. 9 Virginia Falls in Holley Cup Final
PHILADELPHIA – The No. 9 Virginia men’s squash team (9-6) suffered a 6-3 loss against No. 8 Drexel (8-5) in the final of the Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference Championships on Sunday (Feb. 11) at the Arlen Specter U.S. Squash Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
The conference championship, known as the Holley Cup, featured top-seeded Drexel and 2-seed Virginia reaching the final after both teams went 2-0 in pool play.
Virginia opened Sunday’s match strong, with junior CJ Baldini picking up a 3-0 win at position nine. Drexel answered with four straight wins to take a 4-1 lead. Senior Taha Dinana posted an 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 win against the Dragon’s top player to keep the Cavalier’s hopes alive. Junior Max Velazquez battled to a 16-14, 12-10, 6-11, 11-8 win at position eight, but his victory came just as Drexel picked up its fifth point to guarantee its victory.
The Cavaliers had won all four previous Holley Cup championships.
Virginia has two regular-season matches remaining on the schedule before beginning play at the CSA national championships. UVA will host No. 3 Princeton on Saturday, Feb. 17 and No. 6 Cornell on Sunday at the McArthur Squash Center.
#8 Drexel 6, #9 Virginia 3
- Taha Dinana (VA) def. Nico Serna (DRX) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8
- Youssef Bastawy (DRX) def. JP Tew (VA) 13-11, 12-10, 11-8
- Haris Qasim (DRX) def. Myles McIntyre (VA) 11-9, 11-5, 12-10
- Yuri Pelbart (DRX) def. Arhan Chandra (VA) 6-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-6
- Fritiof Jacobsson (DRX) def. Evan Hajek (VA) 11-9, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5
- Guido Lindner (DRX) def. Petr Nohel (VA) 14-12, 11-3, 5-11, 11-6
- Jose Lopez (DRX) def. Dylan Moran (VA) 11-5, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6
- Maxwell Velazquez (VA) def. Darien Benn (DRX) 16-14, 12-10, 6-11, 11-8
- CJ Baldini (VA) def. Sean Murphy (DRX) 11-5, 11-9, 11-6