Trinity Men's Squash Hosts National Championships As Top Seed This Weekend by David Kingsley February 18, 2015, Hartford, Conn.
- The Trinity College Bantam men's squash team, which has a 17-1 record
after a 7-2 win at Princeton on Saturday, will vie for its 15th College
Squash Association (CSA) National Team Championship (Potter Trophy)
title and will do so in the friendly confines of the Kellner Squash
Center in Trinity's Ferris Athletic Center. The three-day event
featuring all levels of collegiate men's squash will be hosting by the
Bantam for the first time from Friday, February 20 to Sunday, February
22. The Bantams, which earned their ninth consecutive New England Small
College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship title earlier this
month, are the top seed in the CSA "A'" Division bracket, having posted
a 6-1 record against the other seven teams in the field during the
regular season. Trinity will open post-season play against the
No. 8-seeded University of Pennsylvania Quakers (8-6) on Friday,
February 20 at 1:30 p.m.
The Bantams, coached by Paul Assaiante (21st season, 375-13), will face
the winner of Friday's match featuring No. 4-seeded Columbia and No.
5-seeded Yale in the CSA Semifinals on Saturday, February 21 at 2:30
p.m. if they win against Penn, and the CSA Finals will take place on
Sunday, February 22 at 1:30 p.m. The Potter Trophy consists of
the top eight teams in intercollegiate squash in a three-round, single
elimination tournament. The other CSA Quarterfinal matches are
No. 2-seeded St. Lawrence against No. 7-seeded Franklin and Marshall,
and No. 3-seeded and defending champion Harvard against No. 6-seeded
Rochester. Trinity defeated the Quakers, 7-2, in Philadelphia on
January 14.
Trinity has a combined individual match record of 138-24 in its 18
matches this year with the lone Bantam loss coming at Rochester on
January 24 by a score of 5-4. First-year James Evans (Maidstone,
England) is unbeaten in his first 16 collegiate matches, while senior
Elroy Leong (Selangor, Malaysia) is perfect in 13 matches this
winter. Sophomore Affeeq Ismail (Kuching, Malaysia) has a
team-high 17 wins against just one loss, while senior co-captain
Moustafa Hamada (Alexandria, Egypt) is 15-2, and senior co-captain
Karan Malik (Bangalore, India) is 15-3. Senior Vrishab Kotian
(Mumbai, India) is 8-8 at the top of the Trinity lineup, while senior
Miled Zarazua (Mexico City, Mexico) is 11-6 at the No. 2 spot, rookie
Rick Penders (Maastricht, Netherlands) is 12-1 at the No. 3 position,
and junior Juan Vargas (Bogota, Colombia) is 10-2 at No. 4.
