Results - Squash

February 1-3, 2008

The Notre Dame squash club hosted the 3rd Annual Notre Dame Squash Tournament. Eighteen people participated with many more filling the spectators’ gallery. The Irish number one player, Javiar Palomo, won the tournament and took home the first place prize, a squash backpack. Head sponsored the event, distributing key chains, wristbands and grip tape to all entrants. A squash bag and a racquet were raffled with all entrants having a chance to win. While the club will next compete in two weeks at the CSA Nationals, hosted this year by Harvard, the more important result is seeing the growth of squash on campus. Squash has a hard core of both student and faculty players, and it is believed that many more would participate if they are exposed to the game. The club and coach Geoff McCuen welcome all interested players who would like to learn about the game and play. It is open to men and women. Free instruction is provided several times a week in the Rockne Memorial by the coaching staff and the better players on the squad.

March 23-25, 2007

James Zhang, Phil Moss and Mike McConnell competed in the Illinois State Singles Championships this weekend in Chicago. Zhang and Moss were runner-up in the 5.0 and 4.0 Divisions respectively, while McConnell won the 3.5 Division title. This is the best overall showing for the Irish in the event. 

February 2-4, 2007

The Notre Dame squash club participated in the 2nd annual West Coast Round Robin, hosted in the new facilities at the University of Washington. The Irish dropped a pair of matches in opening play, but rebounded to win two in closing out the weekend.

On Friday, the Irish fell to the host Huskies by a 6-3 score. James Zhang and Phil Moss posted straight game wins at numbers one and nine respectively, while Pedro Gochicoa came back to win a close five game contest at number 6. Later that evening, the Irish dropped their second match, 9-0, to 19th ranked Stanford, despite some very close individual matches.

Saturday saw fortune smile on the Irish as they opened with a 5-4 victory over rival USC. No. 2 Javier Palomo, No. 4 Mike McConnell, No. 5 Jose Palomo, No. 7 Leigh Chapman, and No. 9 Julian Lagoy won for the Irish, while Zhang, Moss, Pedro Gochicoa, and Thomas Lee also played hard in losing close matches.

The Irish completed the tournament on a high note, with a 6-3 win over Cal. Zhang, Jaavier Palomo, and Moss won four game matches at the top three spots. Jose Palomo and Lee posted four game wins as well at nos. 5 and 6, and Chapman came from 2-0 down to win a 3-2 contest at no. 7.  

November 10-12, 2006

After winning the emerging teams division of the National Championships last year, Notre Dame stepped up in the level of competition this weekend at the United States Naval Academy’s Invitational. The Irish were swept by their opponents despite some close individual matches.

Vanderbilt defeated the Irish 7-2 in the opening round. James Zhang took the number one match for the Irish, 7-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-0, and Thomas Lee won at number nine. Javier Palomo and Michael McConnell dropped five game matches at numbers two and four, while Phil Moss lost in four close games at number three. Jose Palomo, Ben O’Brien, Patrick Quine, and Christopher Schoff dropped 3-0 decisions at numbers 5 - 8 respectively.

The Irish then fell to George Washington, 9-0. Zhang lost in a tiebreaker at number one, McConnel lost 10-8 in the fifth game at number four, and the rest of the squad dropped 3-0 matches.

After claiming a forfeit from Columbia, and mutually deciding with Northwestern to postpone their contest, the Irish dropped their final contest, 8-1 to the Navy JV. Zhang won a five game match at number one for the Irish lone point. Navy claimed the championship with an 8-0 record in a field of sixteen teams.  

March 3-5, 2006

James Zhang, the first Notre Dame player to qualify for the national singles championships, dropped two matches this weekend at Amherst. The two losses were the first for Zhang, as he completed his season record at 13-2 and led the Irish to their first national team championship in their division two weeks ago.

Zhang dropped his opening round match to Trevor Rees of Yale, 3-0, and then lost his consolation match Northwestern’s Ed Gadient, 3-0. Zhang will return next year to lead the Irish in team competition, and attempt to qualify again for the nationals.

February 10-12, 2006

Notre Dame’s squash club claimed the Emerging Teams Division Championships at the CSA National Team Championships this weekend in Princeton, NJ. 46 teams competed for championships in six divisions. The Irish defeated archrival USC in the championship match, 3-2, as they swept the top three matches. The Irish trailed 2-0 in matches before staging the dramatic comeback.

Pedro Gochicoa and Leigh Chapman dropped their matches at numbers 4 and 5 to Devin Jones and Varun Peddy respectively, giving Troy a commanding 2-0 lead. Michael McConnell trailed Rizwan Allawala throughout the first game, but rallied to win 10-8, 9-3, 9-4, to pull the Irish to within 2-1. Trojans fans and players were celebrating prematurely as Harsh Podar rolled 9-5, 9-3 in the first two games and looked to close out the match. But Phil Moss rose to the occasion and fought back to even the match at 2-2 with 9-4, 9-2 scores in the 3rd and 4th games, setting up what proved to be a breathtaking 5th game. Moss again found himself in a deep hole, trailing 8-4 and match ball to Poday. In a display of patience and will, Moss forged a tie at 8-8, faced more match points, then tied at 9-9 only to face yet another match point. In a long, nail-biting exchanges, Moss climbed back to win both the serve and the final point, keeping Irish hopes alive and setting the stage for the climactic final match. In the deciding number 1 match, James Zhang completed a 12-0 individual season with a 3-0 victory over Trojan Tom Stanley, 9-0, 9-3, 9-1, to secure the championship.

In the semi-finals, the Irish whitewashed Rutgers 5-0. Zhang, Moss, Gochicoa and Chapman all won in straight games, 3-0, while McConnell was extended to the limit, winning in fifth games over the Scarlet Knights’ Eric Bramwell,. Other teams in this division included Lafayette, Boston College, Bard, and Vanderbilt. Zhang becme the first Irish player to qualify for the National Singles Championships, and will compete in two weeks at Amherst, MA.

Squash team photographed below with championship trophy held by James Zhang in center.

February 3-5, 2006

Notre Dame’s squash club won four of six matches this weekend in the West Coast Round Robin, hosted by Stanford in a new six court complex featuring an all-glass exhibition court. Captain James Zhang swept six matches at the number one position to remain undefeated in CSA play this year.

On Thursday, the Irish fell in their opener to the host 22nd ranked Cardinal, 8-1, with Zhang’s 3-0 win at number one the lone bright spot for the club. Friday proved to be the highlight of the weekend as the Irish swept USC 9-0. Trojan top seed Tyler Kurlas held a 2-1 lead over Zhang before falling in five games.

The Irish dropped their next match to Washington, 7-2, in a rematch of last year’s CSA emerging teams division national championship. Michael Giordano and Zhang were the lone Irish to win against the Huskies, with Zhang avenging a loss last year to Saumil Gandhi.

The Irish closed the CSA portion of the tournament with a pair of 8-1 victories over Cal Berkeley and Air Force. Phil Moss’ exciting 3-2 win over the Golden Bears was the only closely contested match in the two contests. In an exhibition match, the Irish split a 4-4 contest with the UC Davis Graduate School club. Jose Palomo and Leigh Chapman both were victorious in five game matches.

The CSA Nationals will be held at Princeton in two weeks, and close the season for the Irish.  

West Coast Round Robin: Day One, Match 1
Stanford def. Notre Dame 8-1
Results:

West Coast Round Robin: Day Two, Match 2
Notre Dame def. USC 9-0
Results:

Match Score:		Notre Dame def. USC 9-0
Position	Notre Dame	USC	Winner	Scores
1	Jafmes Zhang	Tyler Kurlas	Notre Dame	(9-10),3,(5),4,6
2	Javier Palomo	Rizwan Allawala	Notre Dame	5,3,4
3	Philip Moss	Diggy Kathiwada	Notre Dame	3,2,(8-10),6
4	Michael McConnell	Chandra Rajagopal	Notre Dame	1,2,0
5	Jose Palomo	Nick Kurlas	Notre Dame	3,7,1
6	Randy Rainosek	Ben Sherman	Notre Dame	7,0,1
7	Chris Schlax	Brian Babcock	Notre Dame	0,1,4
8	Leigh Chapman	Jordan Marks	Notre Dame	0,0,0
9	Michael Giordano	Brian Babcock	Notre Dame	3,2,3
10	Michael Bednarczyk	Jordan Marks	Notre Dame	1,0,0

West Coast Round Robin: Day Two, Match 3
Washington def. Notre Dame 7-2
Results:

Match Score:		Washington def Notre Dame 7-2
Position	Notre Dame	Washington	Winner	Scores
1	James Zhang	Saumil Gandhi	Notre Dame	(5),4,7,0
2	Javier Palomo	Julian Wolfson	Washington	(5),4,6,4
3	Philip Moss	Norman Wilson	Washington	5,1,(7),0
4	Michael McConnell	Robert Shaw	Washington	2,3,(2),1
5	Jose Palomo	Evan Dengler	Washington	0,4,7
6	Randy Rainosek	Paul Higson	Washington	0,3,0
7	Chris Schlax	Arjun Bandhari	Washington	5,2,0
8	Leigh Chapman	Adam Dengler	Washington	4,1,3
9	Michael Giordano	Mauricio Cerna	Notre Dame	4,4,0
10	Michael Bednarczyk	Mauricio Cerna	Notre Dame	4,(7),3,4

West Coast Round Robin: Day Three, Match 5
Notre Dame def. Cal. Berkley 8-1
Results:

Match Score:		Notre Dame def. Cal. Berkley 8-1
Position	Notre Dame	Cal. Berkley	Winner	Scores
1	James Zhang	Amos Vernon	Notre Dame	4,6,2
2	Javier Palomo	Mike Zaerem	Notre Dame	3,10-8,5
3	Philip Moss	Andrew Hsu	Notre Dame	(7), 6,6,(7),7
4	Michael McConnell	Freden Oeur	Notre Dame	10-8,3,7
5	Jose Palomo	Arbi Vartan	Notre Dame	6,4,7
6	Randy Rainosek	Adam Pollack	Cal. Berkley	(7),6,7,3
7	Chris Schlax	Mimi Zang	Notre Dame	7,10-8,6
8	Leigh Chapman	Carie Himmolrich	Notre Dame	4,6,1
9	Michael Giordano	Jon Shich	Notre Dame	1,5,1
10	Michael Bednarczyk	Jon Shich	Notre Dame	3,3,7

West Coast Round Robin: Day Three, Match 6
Notre Dame def. Air Force 8-1
Results:

Match Score:		Notre Dame def. Air Force 8-1
Position	Notre Dame	Air Force	Winner	Scores
1	James Zhang	Adam Gray	Notre Dame	0,2,0
2	Javier Palomo	Jon Campion	Notre Dame	0,0,4
3	Philip Moss	Steve King	Notre Dame	2,5,4
4	Michael McConnell	Matt Voke	Notre Dame	6,0,8
5	Jose Palomo	Ben Mattilino	Notre Dame	2,1,3
6	Randy Rainosek	Eric Goldman	Air Force	5,7,7
7	Chris Schlax	Adam Stooke	Notre Dame	5,7,5
8	Leigh Chapman	Joe Tucholsk	Notre Dame	4,1,(6),7
9	Michael Giordano	Azhar Abbas	Notre Dame	1,8,0
10	Michael Bednarczyk	Azhar Abbas	Notre Dame	5,4,7

January 27-29, 2006

Notre Dame’s improving squash club avenged a November loss to regional rival Purdue this weekend with a 6-3 victory at West Lafayette. The Boilermakers had defeated the Irish 7-2 at the Big 10 Championships at Northwestern in November. This marked Notre Dame’s first win over Purdue since the club was reactivated five years ago.

Captain James Zhang defeated Justin Woo 9-0, 9-6, 9-6 at number one to set the tone of the match, but on this day, he shared the limelight with many teammates. Freshman Javier Palomo debuted for the Irish at number 2, bringing his experience as a former member of the Guatemalan Junior National Team to the squadh. Palomo defeated Ash Karamchandani 9-4, 9-7, 2-9, 9-2. Javier was joined in the win column by his older brother Jose, who beat Vivek Sagi 9-1, 9-7, 9-6 at number 6, becoming the first brother tandem to win in the same match.

Another historic milestone was accomplished for the Irish at number 5, where Katie Daley became the first woman to win a match for the Irish in intercollegiate play, defeating Javier Iuna 9-4, 9-8, 1-9, 10-9. Daley is currently the only woman on the squad, but new members are always welcome.

Phil Moss dropped a tough four game match at number 3 to David Woo, and Michael McConnell defeated Roberto Vargas in four games at number 4. Randy Rainosek and Pedro Gochicoa dropped matches at 7 and 8 to Purdue’s Tabish Ashfaq and Marcus Calmet respectively. Chris Schlax defeated Yonghan Yeong , coming back from 2-1 down to win 9-5, 1-9, 6-9, 9-7, 9-6 at number 9. Leigh Chapman defeated Nataraj Paulraz at number 10 and Julian Lagoy dropped his number 11 contest to Shailesh Sanghai in a pair of exhibition matches.

The Irish will next compete in the Stanford Invitational.  

November 11-13, 2005

Notre Dame’s short handed squash club dropped a pair of matches this weekend, falling to Northwestern, 8-1, Purdue, 7-1, and Penn State, 8-1 at Northwestern. At number 1, James Zhang, a former member of the Singapore National Junior team, established himself as one of the top players in the Midwest as he remained undefeated on the season. Zhang avenged last year’s 3-1 loss to Northwestern’s Ed Gadient, with a 9-5, 7-9, 9-7, 9-7 thriller in the weekend’s featured match. Jose Palomo, Ben O’Brien, Randy Rainosek, Alex Forshaw, Leigh Chapman, and Chris Schalx all dropped 3-0 matches to the 27th ranked Wildcats.

Zhang defeated Purdue’s Justin Woo, 9-3, 10-9, 9-4, and Penn State’s Aditya Shastri, 9-6, 9-4, 9-6, to highlight the weekend. The Irish competed without their number 2 and 4 players, Javier Palomo and Phil Moss for the weekend, and starters Mke McConnell and Eric Sabelhaus are abroad this semester. This tournament was an opportunity for newer players to move up in the line-up and improve their games against experienced opponents. A full squad will look to reverse these decisions after semester break.

The club is continuing to grow, and anyone interested is welcome to join and learn the sport. Practices are held at the five courts in Rockne Memorial.  

February 18-20, 2005

Notre Dame made an auspicious debut in the Collegiate Squash Association national championships in Cambridge, MA this weekend. Playing in the emerging team division, the Irish reached the finals in their first participation in this prestigious event. Trinity won its seventh consecutive national championship, defeating Harvard in the finals. 48 teams, most of them varsity, were entered in six divisions. The Irish opened quarterfinal play with a 5-0 blanking of Bard College. All five Irish players swept to victory in three games. James Zhang at 1 defeated Brian Wolf, 9-0, 9-2, 9-1; at 2, Mike Gelinas defeated Rafael Ishnokov, 9-0, 9-0, 9-1; Phil Moss handled Trey Phillips, 9-3, 9-2, 9-4; Mike McConnell defeated Amwi Heredia at 4, 9-0, 9-0, 9-1; and Jose Polomo whitewashed David Manning, 99-0, 9-0, 9-0. In the semifinals, coach Geoff McCuen's Irish again blanked their opponent, Bryant College, 5-0. Zhang defeated Eric Zipp, 9-2, 9-0, 9-1; Gelinas topped Eli Chernin, 9-0, 9-1, 9-2; Moss was a 9-5, 9-2, 9-3 victor over Steve Lamb; McConnell handled Steve Parry, 9-2, 9-5, 9-3; and Polomo won a close match over T J Euley, 10-9, 10-8, 9-2, to set up the showdown with Washington in the finals. Washington had also swept two opponents, USC and Kenyon, as the two squads proved to be the best in the division. The final, played at Harvard's Muir Gym, was competitive, but the Huskies proved the better squad. Zhang lost at 1 to Sawhill Ghandi, 9-6, 9-5, 9-6; Gelinas claimed the only point for the Irish at 2, 10-8, 9-1, 6-9, 9-5; Moss fell at 3 to Norman Wilson, 9-0, 9-3, 9-0; McConnell dropped the 4 match to Ryan Antonio, 9-1, 9-0, 9-4' and Polomo was unable to sustain his early momentum, falling at 5 to Ritwik Kejriwal, 0-9, 0-9, 9-6, 10-9, 9-7. The USC Trojans won the losers bracket to finish third in the division. 

January 21-23, 2005

Notre Dame's squash club competed in the CSA Big 10 championships this weekend at Illinois. The Irish won their opening round against the host Illlini, 8-1. The win reversed a 9-0 loss one year ago in which the Irish didn't win a single game. James Zhang and Mike Gelinas swept to a pair of 3-0 wins at the top two spots to pace the Irish. Mike McConnell dropped his match at number three in the line-up, while the rest of the squad - Phil Moss, Alfonso Bosch, Joses Palomo, Eric Sabelhaus, Randy Rainosek, and Gabriel Letona - were victorious from four through nine. Moss trailed 8-0 in his opening game before rallying to tie the score. His opponent called set two, and Moss again fell behind double game point, before coming back for a 10-9 win. In the second round, the Irish fell to 25th ranked Northwestern, 9-0. It was not without a struggle however, as best evidenced in Freshman Galinas' loss at number two to the Wildcats' Peter Kamm, 9-5, 9-5, 7-9, 6-9, 10-9, in the highlight match of the tournament. The third match of the day was a disappointing 6-3 loss to Purdue. The Boilers were a much fresher squad, having only played one match earlier in the day. Zhang and Gelinas again took their matches at the top of the line-up, and Latona won at nine. The Irish will next face Kenyon this Saturday afternoon. The match is tentatively scheduled for the Rockne courts.  

November 19-21, 2004

Notre Dame’s squash club continued to cut its teeth in its formative stages as it competed in the ISRA League play this weekend. Youth and inexperience were costly as the Irish line-up featuring two freshman and two sophomores fell to Purdue 3-2, and Lakeshore, 5-0. Against the Boilers, James Zhang and Mike Gelinas garnered 3-0 wins at the top two spots, but it was not enough as the Irish dropped the next three. Team captain Sereeparp Anantavrasilp played a very close match at the third spot, before falling 3-1. Mike McConnell and Randall Rainosek picked up valuable playing experience, but dropped matches at 4 and 5 respectively.

The Irish were blanked by Lakeshore, but Zhang and McConnell both won games against veteran players. Lakeshore Club’s line-up consisted of former collegiate players who have played the Chicago tournaments for several years.

The Irish will wrap up ISRA play with the playoffs in January.

November 6-8, 2004

Purdue hosted the fledgling Notre Dame squash club this weekend in the first of two contests between the schools this year. The Irish dropped five of six contests, although the top of the lineup was competitive with the Boilermakers.

Sophomore James Zhang was the Irish sole victor, earning a hard fought 3-2 number one match. Freshman Mike Gelinas and captain Sereeparp Anantavraslip both lost close 3-2 decisions at numbers two and three. It was Gelinas first loss in four matches this season. Sophomores Phil Moss, Mike McConnell, and Greg Caso dropped 3-0 matches at four through six respectively.

The two schools will play again in January at the Big Ten Squash Championships hosted by Northwestern. The club is actively seeking new members interested in learning and playing an exciting and fast growing sport.

September 24-26, 2004

Notre Dame's squash club played in the Illinois Squash Racquet Association's first round of tournament competition this weekend at the Lakeshore Downtown Athletic Club in Chicago. The tournament consists of three team matches leading to a final playoff match in January. The Irish line-up included Matt Dyer, James Zhang, Mike Gelinas, captain Sereepart Anantavrasilp, and Anish Thomas. Although the club dropped all ten of their matches, the individual game scores were close. The club will next take to the courts October 30th as they prepare for the upcoming CSA season.