PHILADELPHIA - The Haverford College squash programs were well represented on the first day of the 2023 College Squash Association (CSA) Individual Championships and the U.S. Intercollegiate Doubles Championships, as the two tournaments began concurrently at the Arlen Specter Center in Philadelphia on Friday morning.
In individual action, Haverford's top flight players Ariana Solecki and Quinton Crawford represented the Fords in Round of 16 play in the Holleran and Molloy cup draws, respectively.
In his second consecutive appearance at the CSA Individual Championships, senior stalwart and number one Crawford was matched up with Rochester's Abdelrahman Lasheen, as the 16th-seeded Crawford battled the regional one seed in the Molloy West before falling in straight games, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9. Crawford then drew Benedek Takacs of national runner-up Trinity in the consolation round, but advanced to the consolation semifinals via default to set up a matchup against Deven Kanwal of Bowdoin. Kanwal, usually the second flight player for the Polar Bears, was locked in an extremely tough challenge from Crawford.
Kanwal took the first game by an 11-4 final, but Crawford responded immediately with an 11-8 victory to knot things up at 1-1. Kanwal then grabbed the third game 11-6 before the two players locked horns in the fourth set, commanding the crowd's attention onto Court 18 at the Specter Center. With things even at 9-9 in the fourth, Crawford pulled ahead and then blasted into a decisive fifth game with an 11-9 triumph. In a spirited fifth game that saw a bevy of long rallies and highlight reel shots, Kanwal ultimately prevailed, building his lead methodically after Crawford took the early advantage. The fifth game finished 11-6 in favor of the Bowdoin player.
Crawford ends his Haverford career with 27 total wins, including 14 at the top flight.
Earning the 16th seed, Solecki was matched up with Hannah Chukwu of national runner-up Trinity in the Holleran Cup East Round of 16, falling to the top-seed in the region by a 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 final. In consolation action, the Brooklyn product took on Basmala Sayed Ahmed of Chatham in a rematch of their battle at the top flight on December 3, falling to the Cougars player by a final score of 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8. Solecki deftly grabbed a hard-fought game off Ahmed as she improved on her performance from the late 2022 meeting between the two teams at Penn.
The second-game victory was the first at Individual Nationals for the women's program since Isabelle Gotuaco '18 swept Allison Shilling of Mount Holyoke in consolation action during the 2015 season.
Solecki, the sophomore standout for the Fords, finishes her season with an 6-13 record, appearing solely at number one during the team season.
In some early morning men's doubles action, the team of Ben Schiltz and John Collins was upended in straight games by a formidable pairing from Navy, Millen Randell and Henry Sparkman. That duo from the Midshipmen took 11-2, 11-9, and 11-3 games to advance to quarterfinals in the single-elimination bracket.
With the 2022-23 season now concluded, Haverford will now await the release of CSA Scholar Athletes and College Squash Association postseason awards, which are expected to be unveiled via press release later this month.