Saturday, February 10
Princeton, N.J.
12:00 PM
Princeton University
5
vs
4
Penn
The men's squash team won its first Ivy League championship since 2013 in thrilling fashion on Saturday in Jadwin Gym.
Photo by: Kevin Birch
Ivy Champions! No. 3 Princeton Stages Amazing Rally to Defeat No. 2 Penn in Jadwin Finale
February 10, 2024 | Men's Squash
The final men's dual match in Jadwin Gym sure was befitting of the occasion.
Winning four consecutive matches where a loss would have delivered the team win to Penn, the No. 3-ranked Princeton men's squash team defeated the No. 2-ranked Quakers 5-4 with Karim Elbarbary staving off a rally by opponent Salman Khalil to win his match at first position in five.
Penn took each of the first three matches off court, at positions three, five and seven, and four of the first five to hold a 4-1 lead with Zain Ahmed's three-game win at eighth position getting Princeton on the board.
The Quaker clincher, though, never came. Avi Agarwal turned in a three-game win at sixth position to get Princeton to 4-2. Gordon Lam followed by winning in four at ninth position, taking the last two games to seal his win and get Princeton to 4-3.
Ahmed Hussein had a back-and-forth match with Nathan Tze Bing Kueh at fourth position, winning in five in a match that saw two of the games go past 11 points. Hussein took the clinching fifth game 12-10.
That put the focus on first position, where Elbarbary won the first two games but saw Khalil rally to tie it with 11-3 and 11-9 wins. Elbarbary took the fifth game 11-9, and with that, Princeton had its first Ivy League title since 2013.
With the result, both Princeton and Penn end the Ivy League season at 6-1. Princeton took its first Ivy loss of the season last weekend at Yale while Penn entered at 6-0, already having clinched a share of the Ivy title by standing a match up on Princeton with one to play, but Princeton's win gives both teams the league championship.
Princeton will close the regular dual-match season with a visit to No. 9 Virginia next Saturday before the CSA team tournament in Philadelphia beginning Feb. 29.
Karim Elbarbary (Pr) def. Salman Khalil (Pe), 3-2 (11-7, 11-3, 3-11, 9-11, 11-9)
Omar Hafez (Pe) def. Hollis Robertson (Pr), 3-2 (11-8, 12-14, 7-11, 11-3, 12-10)
Nicholas Spizzirri (Pe) def. Thomas Rosini (Pr), 3-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7)
Ahmed Hussein (Pr) def. Nathan Tze Bing Kueh (Pe), 3-2 (11-7, 14-16, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10)
Abdelrahman Dweek (Pe) def. Alastair Cho (Pr), 3-1 (3-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4)
Avi Agarwal (Pr) def. Varun Chitturi (Pe), 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-9)
Dana Santry (Pe) def. Alhassan Khalil (Pr), 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 14-12)
Zain Ahmed (Pr) def. Rehan Luthra (Pe), 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-7)
Gordon Lam (Pr) def. Shaam Gambhir (Pe), 3-1 (11-6, 10-12, 11-3, 11-6)
10th match: Hao Cui (Pe) def. Federico Sosa (Pr), 3-2 (6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9)
Winning four consecutive matches where a loss would have delivered the team win to Penn, the No. 3-ranked Princeton men's squash team defeated the No. 2-ranked Quakers 5-4 with Karim Elbarbary staving off a rally by opponent Salman Khalil to win his match at first position in five.
Penn took each of the first three matches off court, at positions three, five and seven, and four of the first five to hold a 4-1 lead with Zain Ahmed's three-game win at eighth position getting Princeton on the board.
The Quaker clincher, though, never came. Avi Agarwal turned in a three-game win at sixth position to get Princeton to 4-2. Gordon Lam followed by winning in four at ninth position, taking the last two games to seal his win and get Princeton to 4-3.
Ahmed Hussein had a back-and-forth match with Nathan Tze Bing Kueh at fourth position, winning in five in a match that saw two of the games go past 11 points. Hussein took the clinching fifth game 12-10.
That put the focus on first position, where Elbarbary won the first two games but saw Khalil rally to tie it with 11-3 and 11-9 wins. Elbarbary took the fifth game 11-9, and with that, Princeton had its first Ivy League title since 2013.
IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONS! ??
— Princeton MSQUASH (@princetonmsq) February 10, 2024
Karim Elbarbary had the clincher at 1 as we won FOUR straight elimination matches to rally past Penn 5-4! pic.twitter.com/yPJ4fsMCm9
With the result, both Princeton and Penn end the Ivy League season at 6-1. Princeton took its first Ivy loss of the season last weekend at Yale while Penn entered at 6-0, already having clinched a share of the Ivy title by standing a match up on Princeton with one to play, but Princeton's win gives both teams the league championship.
Princeton will close the regular dual-match season with a visit to No. 9 Virginia next Saturday before the CSA team tournament in Philadelphia beginning Feb. 29.
Karim Elbarbary (Pr) def. Salman Khalil (Pe), 3-2 (11-7, 11-3, 3-11, 9-11, 11-9)
Omar Hafez (Pe) def. Hollis Robertson (Pr), 3-2 (11-8, 12-14, 7-11, 11-3, 12-10)
Nicholas Spizzirri (Pe) def. Thomas Rosini (Pr), 3-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7)
Ahmed Hussein (Pr) def. Nathan Tze Bing Kueh (Pe), 3-2 (11-7, 14-16, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10)
Abdelrahman Dweek (Pe) def. Alastair Cho (Pr), 3-1 (3-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4)
Avi Agarwal (Pr) def. Varun Chitturi (Pe), 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-9)
Dana Santry (Pe) def. Alhassan Khalil (Pr), 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 14-12)
Zain Ahmed (Pr) def. Rehan Luthra (Pe), 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-7)
Gordon Lam (Pr) def. Shaam Gambhir (Pe), 3-1 (11-6, 10-12, 11-3, 11-6)
10th match: Hao Cui (Pe) def. Federico Sosa (Pr), 3-2 (6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
/ Men's Squash
Princeton Athletics 2023-24 Highlights
Tuesday, June 04
Men's Squash Ivy Title Clinching Point
Saturday, February 10
Highlights from 2022 Gary Walters ’67 PVC Awards Banquet
Wednesday, June 22
Princeton Athletics 2021-22 Highlights
Monday, June 06