The University of Pennsylvania’s men’s and women’s squash teams are set to host Harvard and Dartmouth at the Penn Squash Center this weekend. The matches will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with both teams facing Harvard first, followed by Dartmouth.
The men’s team recently secured a win against No. 8 Princeton, improving their season record to 10-2. This victory made them the first team in the College Squash Association (CSA) to reach double-digit wins this season. Key contributions came from Omar Hafez and Salman Khalil, who won their matches in the top two positions against Princeton. Hafez currently leads the team with 15 wins for the season. The Quakers are tied with Yale for second place in the Ivy League standings as they prepare to challenge top-seeded Harvard.
The women’s team enters the weekend after experiencing their first loss of the season against Princeton, dropping their record to 11-1. Despite this setback, they secured a berth in the Ivy League Tournament based on last Saturday’s results. Malak Khafagy stood out by defeating CSA Individual champion Zeina Zein in her match.
On Saturday, Penn’s men’s team will face No. 2 ranked Harvard at noon, while on Sunday they play No. 9 Dartmouth at the same time. The women’s team will compete against No. 1 Harvard on Saturday and No. 11 Dartmouth on Sunday; both matches are scheduled for noon.
Harvard’s men’s squash team holds a 7-1 record and is ranked second nationally by the CSA. Omar Azzam leads their roster with an undefeated individual record (8-0), placing him seventh among all CSA players this season. Their only defeat was handed down by Trinity College; otherwise, Harvard remains atop the Ivy League standings with a perfect conference record.
The Harvard women’s squad is currently undefeated (7-0) and sits at No. 1 in national rankings, having swept four of seven opponents so far—including Yale most recently—and maintaining a tie with Princeton for first place in conference standings. Six members of their lineup remain unbeaten individually this year; Caroline Fouts leads as a finalist from last year’s CSA Individual Championships.
Dartmouth’s men’s team comes into Philadelphia ranked ninth nationally with a 7-5 overall record after defeating Tufts in their latest contest. Callan Venkatesan has posted nine victories so far and ranks as No. 72 among CSA players nationwide.
On the women’s side, Dartmouth stands at No. 11 in national rankings with a balanced six-win season so far; Callie Worth and Ziyi Liu have each contributed six wins apiece for Big Green, who also defeated Tufts most recently and are tied for fourth place in Ivy League play alongside Yale.
