.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
CSA Day 2
Players Mentioned
All-America, Team Champion Samuel Kang Caps Career In CSA Quarterfinals
February 28, 2015 | Men's Squash
COMPLETE BRACKETS
Princeton senior tri-captain Samuel Kang fell in three games to second-seeded Osama Khalifa of Columbia 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 in the quarterfinal round of the 2015 CSA Individual Championships, held this weekend at the Jadwin Squash Courts. It was the final match in the career of Kang, an All-America and a key starter on two Ivy League championship teams, as well as the 2012 CSA national team champion.
Kang, who has battled injuries throughout his senior season, had to go five games Friday night just to reach his second quarterfinal round. Khalifa was able to take control quickly in the first game, and he kept the pressure on in the second game.
Kang showed the resolve that has been a consistent quality throughout his four years at Princeton, and he pushed Khalifa much harder in the third game. Though the final game would be tight late, Khalifa won the final two points to close the match.
WOMEN'S RECAP:
Senior Nicole Bunyan looked at the Top-10 All-America wall by the main court inside Jadwin Gym for four years, and she knew she had one final chance to get her name listed there among the all-time greats. Most people told her a trip to the quarterfinals would do the trick; she figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
So she went out and won the match of the championships, if not the match of the year.
Bunyan, who entered the weekend as the 11th seed, stunned third-seeded Danielle Letourneau of Cornell 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 17-19, 12-10 in an epic showdown on Court 2 to reach her first individual semifinal. That match followed a brilliant all-Princeton showdown, when the two highest-ranked underclassmen showed how much excitement there was to come in the near future for Princeton women's squash.
Fourth-seeded freshman Olivia Fiechter found herself trailing 2-0 to teammate and fifth-seeded sophomore Maria Elena Ubina after close 11-8 and 12-10 losses, but Fiechter turned the tide in the third for an 11-6 win. Ubina continued to battle, but Fiechter finished the match with back-to-back 11-8 victories to reach her first semifinal.
The run for both players would end there, though; Harvard's Amanda Sobhy and Trinity's Kanzi El Defrawy have proven themselves to be the top two players in the sport over the last three years, and both earned 3-0 victories to set up a third straight championship final. Sobhy is undefeated throughout her collegiate career, but Fiechter pushed her in a tight 11-9 first game; the Harvard senior built off that win and will try to join Princeton head coach Gail Ramsay as the only four-time college squash national champion.