Harvard Squash Teams Show Grit and Dominance at Virginia

Harvard squash closed out the final weekend before winter break with two major road victories in Charlottesville, Va., taking down the highly ranked Virginia Cavaliers. The No. 3 Crimson men earned a 6-3 statement win over No. 4 Virginia, while the No. 1 Harvard women continued their strong start with a commanding 7-2 victory against the No. 6 Cavaliers. The results move the men to 4-0 and the women to 2-0 as both Harvard teams return to Cambridge with momentum.

The men traveled south for one of the earliest top-five showdowns of the College Squash Association’s (CSA) season, looking to solidify their national title aspirations through a decisive result on the road. Virginia, however, looked as though it might thwart those dreams early in the match, as it took the top two spots on the ladder.

After dropping the first two, Harvard responded with a stretch of clutch performances throughout the middle and lower order.

Junior Omar Azzam began the surge at the third position, recovering from an opening 11-13 setback to win three straight and put Harvard on the board. Freshman Christian Capella followed with a composed 3-1 victory at the fourth position to tie the match. Virginia regained ground at fives, but Harvard quickly reclaimed control. Freshman Alexander Broadbridge delivered one of the day’s defining efforts at sixes, outlasting his opponent in a tense five-game battle and sealing the decider 11-8 in the final game.

After Broadbridge’s match, the Crimson dominated the bottom of the ladder. Sophomore Segev Rome swept his match at the seventh position, dropping only one point in the third game. At eights, junior Jacob Lin mounted a dramatic comeback after falling behind two games to none, storming through the final three games to give Harvard its crucial fifth point. The match was secured minutes later when junior Ishant Shah captured another five-game thriller at nines with an 11-8 closing frame.

During the course of the afternoon, the match swung on several knife-edge moments, but Harvard’s poise in the highest-pressure fifth games proved decisive. Even with three matches going the distance, the Crimson held its composure, trusted its fitness, and closed out the points that mattered.

The 6-3 win marks an important early step in Harvard’s push toward reclaiming the national top spot, showcasing the depth and resilience of a roster reinforced by two standout freshmen.

On the adjacent courts, the top-ranked and defending national runner-up Crimson women earned a decisive victory, collecting wins in seven of the first eight matches played, dominating the scoreboard from the onset.

Sophomore Caroline Fouts set the tone for her team at the top position, splitting the opening two games before powering through the third and fourth to claim a 3-1 win. Senior Saran Nghiem and junior Lucie Stefanoni quickly extended the lead with straight-games sweeps at twos and threes, maintaining their unbeaten starts to the season.

In the middle of the order, freshman Ona Blasco Puig continued her strong opening campaign with a clean 3-0 victory at fours. Sophomore Ocean Ma delivered another point shortly after by winning three consecutive games at fives, following a narrow loss in the opener.

Freshmen Dixon Hill and senior Molly Stoltz provided the finishing touches at the bottom of the ladder, each earning 3 -1 wins at eights and nines, respectively. With the 7-2 final, the Crimson moves to 2-0 and continues to defend its 2025 Ivy League title.

Both Harvard squads will return to action after winter break, where they will host a doubleheader at the Murr Center on Jan 16 and 17. The Crimson will take on two fierce Ivy League opponents in Columbia and Cornell.

Early season or not, Harvard’s road performances in Charlottesville reinforced the same message seen year after year: depth, discipline, and poise continue to fuel the Crimson’s dominance in collegiate squash.