Hartford, Conn. – The Trinity College Bantams sprinted to a 5-1 lead after two waves on their way to a 7-2 victory over the visiting Columbia University Lions in the College Squash Association (CSA) National Championship (Potter Trophy) Semifinals this afternoon at Kellner Center. Trinity, seeded No. 1 in the field and hosting the tournament for the first time, improves to 19-1 with its eighth-straight win, and will appear in its 19th consecutive CSA National Finals tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. against the No. 2-seeded St. Lawrence University Saints.
Trinity rookies Omar Allaudin (Lahore, Pakistan) and Rick Penders (Maastricht, Netherlands) set the tone quickly with a pair of 3-0 wins, at No. 9 and No. 3, respectively, while fellow Bantam first-year James Evans (Maidstone, England) added a 3-1 triumph at No. 6 shortly after. Sophomore Affeeq Ismail (Kuching, Malaysia) won, 3-0, at No. 8 for a 4-0 Bantam lead, but freshman Osama Khalifa (Cairo, Egypt) gave the Lions life with a 3-0 win in the No. 2 match. Trinity senior co-captain Karan Malik (Bangalore, India) secured the victory for the hosts with a 3-1 win over Columbia senior Mohamed Abdel Maksoud (Cairo, Egypt) in the No. 5 match. Bantam senior co-captain Moustafa Hamada (Alexandria, Egypt) and junior Juan Vargas (Bogota, Colombia) both pulled out 3-2 victories to push the Trinity team total to seven, while senior Ramit Tandon (Kolkata, India) won at the top spot for Columbia).
MATCH RESULTS
1. C- Ramit Tandon d. Vrishab Kotian, 11-2, 11-3, 12-10
2. C- Osama Khalifa d. Miled Zarazua, 11-9, 14-12, 11-5
3. TC- Rick Penders d. Rishi Tandon, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6
4. TC- Juan Vargas d. Seif Attia, 3-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5
5. TC- Karan Malik d. Mohamed Abdel Maksoud, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9
6. TC- James Evans d. Josh Sekhar, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9
7. TC- Moustafa Hamada d. Danial Saleem, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8
8. TC- Affeeq Ismail d. Arhum Saleem, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7
9. TC- Omar Allaudin d. Alex Nalle, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4
Trinity (Conn.) 7, Columbia
