HARTFORD, Conn. – Five members of the Trinity College men's squash program competed at the College Squash Association (CSA) Singles Tournament, hosted at the FiDi Squash Club in New York, N.Y., with the semifinals and finals held in Grand Central Station. Trinity seniors Benedek Takacs and Joachim Chuah were joined by sophomores Wa-Sern Low and Huzaifa Ibrahim, along with first-year Muhammed Ashab Irfan. Ibrahim returned to Hartford with hardware after capturing the Pool D title, while Irfan claimed runner-up honors after an impressive run to the finals in the Pool Trophy.

What Happened

• In his debut appearance at the CSA Singles Tournament, Irfan led the Bantams with a standout performance, advancing to the championship match. After earning a first-round bye, Irfan cruised through the bracket with four consecutive 3–0 victories. He opened play by defeating Maddox Moxham in the Round of 32 (11–7, 11–8, 11–5), followed by wins over Lachlan Sutton in the Round of 16 (11–4, 11–7, 11–8) and UPenn's Salman Khalil in the quarterfinals (11–7, 11–5, 11–3). Irfan then secured his place in the finals with a semifinal sweep of Harvard's Omar Azzam (11–7, 11–8, 11–9).
• In the championship match, Irfan faced veteran Omar Hafez, the 2025 defending CSA Singles Champion. Irfan battled through a tightly contested match, dropping the second set 11–9 before mounting a comeback with an 11–6 victory in the third to trail 2–1 entering the fourth. Unable to find a rhythm late, Irfan fell as Hafez closed out the match to secure the title. Irfan earned runner-up honors in a 64-player field during his rookie season.
• Chuah made his second career appearance on the semifinal court at Grand Central Station, earning a long-awaited rematch against last year's opponent, Omar Hafez of UPenn. Despite rallying to claim the third set, Chuah fell in the fourth, ending his tournament run. Chuah opened the tournament with a first-round bye and followed with three straight 3–0 victories, defeating Drexel's Guido Lindner in the Round of 32 (11–7, 11–8, 11–6), Harvard's Denis Gilevskiy in the Round of 16 (11–7, 11–7, 11–7), and Marwan Abdelsalam in the quarterfinals (11–9, 11–7, 11–3).
• Low and Takacs added to the Bantams' success, joining Chuah and Irfan in the quarterfinals and accounting for four of the eight remaining competitors—half of the bracket representing Trinity. Low went a perfect 9–0 in sets on his path to the quarterfinals, earning victories over Drexel's Youssef Bastaway, Harvard's David Costales, and UVA's Juan Jose Torres in the Round of 16. His run came to an end in a five-set thriller against Harvard's Omar Azzam (5–11, 10–12, 11–8, 11–9, 9–11).
• Takacs dropped just three sets en route to the quarterfinals, defeating MIT's Philip Hyun Su Price (3–0), Yale's Arav V. Bhagwati (3–1), and UVA's Juan A. Irisarri in five sets (11–6, 6–11, 5–11, 11–7, 11–5). Takacs' tournament concluded with a three-set loss to Hafez in the quarterfinal round.
• Ibrahim opened the tournament with a four-game victory over Dickinson's Joe Smythe, rallying after dropping the second set to advance (11–9, 11–13, 13–11, 11–6). He was later edged out of the main draw with a three-set loss to UVA's Juan Jose Torres in the Round of 32, shifting him into the Pool D consolation bracket.
• In Pool D play, Ibrahim surged to a championship finish. The sophomore advanced to the finals after Harvard's David Costales and Princeton's Federico Sosa both surrendered their matches. In the Pool D final, Ibrahim faced Columbia's Shaurya Bawa in a four-set battle, with the second and third sets extending beyond eleven (13–11, 11–13). After dropping the third set, Ibrahim closed strong with an 11–7 victory in the final frame to secure the Bantams' hardware.

Up Next

The Bantams return to regular-season action as they host Harvard at the George A. Kellner Squash Courts on Friday, Jan. 30, at 5:00 p.m.

TRINITY ATHLETICS