Head Coach Gilly Lane has taken the men’s squash team to unparalleled heights since the 2007 alumnus took over the program in 2016: No. 1 rankings, undefeated regular seasons, undisputed Ivy titles, and two appearances in the Potter Cup final. The only thing missing was the ever-elusive national championship.
After Sunday’s dominating performance at Philadelphia’s Arlen Specter Squash Center, Lane and the 2023-24 Quakers can etch their greatness in stone. No. 3-ranked Penn defeated No. 1-ranked Trinity 7-1 in the CSA National Collegiate Team Championships to win their first national title in school history.
The contest was a rematch of a Feb. 4 matchup in Hartford, Connecticut. Trinity won 5-4, handing the Red & Blue one of their two losses on the season. Penn on Saturday afternoon also avenged a Feb. 10 loss to Princeton, downing the No. 2-ranked Tigers 5-4 to earn a spot in the Potter Cup final.
Against Trinity, the Quakers jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Third-year Nathan Kueh, playing in the No. 4 spot, put the Red & Blue up 1-0 by defeating Abdelrahman Nassar 12-10, 11-3, 11-8. Fourth-year Nick Spizzirri, playing in the No. 1 spot, fell to Mohamed Sharaf 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, which evened the contest at 1-1.
Fourth-year Dana Santry, first-year Salman Khalil—the Ivy League Rookie of the Year—and third-year Abdelrahman Dweek each were victorious in the next three matches, which put second-year Omar Hafez in a position to clinch the title with a win over Joachim Chuah. Hafez, a unanimous All-Ivy selection, won 12-10, 12-10, 4-11, 13-11.
This year’s Potter Cup marked Penn’s 10th consecutive appearance. They fell to Trinity 5-4 in the semifinals of last year’s Potter Cup. The Quakers are one of only six schools to win a Potter Cup, joining Harvard, Princeton, Trinity, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Yale.
