No. 6 Virginia Wins 6-3 Over No. 8 Columbia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. – The No. 6 Virginia men’s squash team (1-0) opened the season with a 6-3 win against No. 8 Columbia (0-1) on Saturday (Nov. 16) in the CSA Men’s Match of the Week at the McArthur Squash Center in Charlottesville, Va.

JP Tew, Jose Juan Torres, and Ewan Harris each picked up 3-0 victories at positions two, three, and eight. Graduate student Karim Elbarbary and freshman Nathan Rosenzweig both won 3-1 while senior Evan Hajek gutted out a 3-2 victory at position nine.

FROM ASSISTANT COACH GRANT WHITE

“This team has trained with a phenomenal amount of intensity, purpose, and passion since our opening practice back at the end of August. So today’s win over Columbia is one that they absolutely deserved and one that their coaches were proud and gratified to see them take. The composure that our guys showed in the toughest moments was key to the result. We competed at every position with the same determination that has characterized our practices, our challenge matches, and our overall team mentality. In the six wins we took today, we showed the range of talents and strengths that we possess. Talk about being able to pick up wins every which way, the two matches that sealed it for us are a case in point. An absolute grind by fourth year co-captain Evan Hajek and a few minutes later, first year Juan Torres turns in a decisive 3-0 win for the clincher. That sort of capacity to produce points across class years, ladder positions, and styles of play is a powerful statement. And it’s one we will look to back up as we face Yale, the #2 team in the nation, on our home courts tomorrow.”

CAVALIER NOTES

• This was Virginia’s first victory over Columbia since the 2019-20 season and just the second ever in seven meetings
• Grad student Karim Elbarbary made his UVA debut at the top of the ladder. Elbarbary graduated from Princeton in May and played at No. 1 for the Tigers
• Three of the Cavaliers’ four first-years made their collegiate debuts: Juan Jose Torres Lara, Nathan Rosenzweig and Ewan Harris, all picking up their first collegiate victories as well
• This was the CSA Men’s Match of the Week

UP NEXT

• The Cavaliers are back at home Sunday (Nov. 17) to take on #2 Yale.

#6 Virginia 6, #8 Columbia 3

1 | Karim Elbarbary (VA) def. Arhan Chandra (CU) 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 12-10
2 | JP Tew (VA) def. Franklyn Smith (CU) 11-4, 11-9, 11-3
3 | Juan Jose Torres (VA) def. Yusuf Sheikh (CU) 11-7, 11-9, 11-8
4 | Thomas Soltanian (CU) def. Maxwell Velazquez (VA) 11-3, 11-7, 11-6
5 | Zach Nam (CU) def. Dylan Moran (VA) 14-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9
6 | Paarth Ambani (CU) def. Petr Nohel (VA) 3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7
7 | Nathan Rosenzweig (VA) def. Imad Athar (CU) 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5
8 | Ewan Harris (VA) def. Gonzalo De La Mora (CU) 11-8, 11-1, 11-2
9 | Evan Hajek (VA) def. Adam Goad (CU) 12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 12-14, 11-6