Men’s squash claims second straight CSA Potter Cup team title
Penn’s perfect season ended with a second straight College Squash Association Potter Cup national team championship on March 9.
The top-seeded University of Pennsylvania men’s squash team completed its first perfect season and earned its second straight College Squash Association (CSA) Potter Cup national team championship on March 9, defeating third-seeded Yale at the Arlen Specter Squash Center, 6-3.
The Quakers (20-0) won the first four matches of the day—Omar Hafez at No. 3, Abdelrahman Dweek at No. 8, Marwan Abdelsalam at No. 4, and Nick Spizzirri at No. 2—to get on the verge of the title. Yale (10-3) fought hard and won the next two matches (at No. 9 and No. 6) to close the gap to 4-2, but Salman Khalil won in four games at the top spot to clinch the fifth and final point.
“In many ways, this year was way more stressful than last year,” says head coach Gilly Lane. “I’ve always loved being the person who’s going after it and chasing it, really attacking the big dog. It was a weird situation being the other way around this year.”
“I’ve never been more impressed with a group of student-athletes," he says. “They just got it and understood what they needed to do in big moments. In actuality, I was able to take a step back a bit because it was such a senior-laden group, an upperclass-led group. I am more honored than anything to get to coach these incredible players.”
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