ITHACA, N.Y. — The No. 9-ranked Cornell men's squash team travels to Philadelphia to participate in the 2025 College Squash Association (CSA) National Team Championships that begin Thursday afternoon at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center.

Cornell, who enters the Potter Cup bracket as the No. 9 seed, will battle No. 8-seeded Columbia at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Match action will take place on courts No. 14-16.

The winner of Thursday morning's match will compete against top-seeded Penn in the quarterfinals, while the loser will advance to the semifinals of the first consolation bracket. Both matches are set to occur at 3 p.m. on Friday. The quarterfinal matches will be played on Glass East courts No. 17 and 18, and the consolation semifinals will be held on courts No. 11-13.

LAST TIME OUT
Cornell concluded its regular-season slate with a clean sweep of the No. 14-ranked University of Rochester at the Belkin Squash Courts on Feb. 19, snapping its eight-match losing streak.

The victory was Cornell's first since Jan. 11 when it defeated Dartmouth, 6-3, in the Ivy League opener. It was Cornell's third 9-0 victory of the season, joining victories over No. 14-ranked Western (Nov. 22) in the season opener and a road triumph over No. 19-ranked Amherst (Dec. 8).
 
Five of the Big Red's nine victories came in straight games, all between the No. 5 and 9 matches. Seniors Tanay Punjabi (No. 5), Rohan Iyer (No. 6), and Shreemann Raghavan (No. 7), sophomore Arnav Tevatia (No. 9), and freshman Roman Bicknell (No. 8) were the quintet who did not drop a game.
 
Senior Arnaav Sareen and sophomore Syan Singh posted four-game victories as Singh returned to the lineup following an eight-match absence.
 
Fellow senior Aaron Liang (No. 1) and freshman Youssef Sarhan (No. 3) battled in their respective matches, prevailing in five-game marathons.

SCOUTING COLUMBIA
Columbia heads into Thursday's match with a 6-7 overall record. The Lions recently split their final weekend of the regular season, losing a nail-biting 5-4 decision to the Dragons, then cruised past the Mustangs with an 8-1 victory.

Zach Nam (8-4) and Imad Athar (8-5) are tied for the team lead in wins this season and are among five players with a winning record. Paarth Ambani (5-0), Yusuf Sheikh (5-4), and Adam Goad (4-3) also have records above .500.

LAST TIME AGAINST COLUMBIA
Cornell fell short against Columbia on Feb. 8 at the Belkin Squash Courts in Ithaca, dropping a 5-4 decision in its Ivy League finale.

Senior Aaron Liang (No. 1) and freshmen Youssef Sarhan (No. 3), Roman Bicknell (No. 7), and Vivaan Shah (No. 9) posted victories for the Big Red. Shah's victory at the No. 9 match was his first appearance within the top nine this season.

Liang posted a straight-game victory over Arhan Chandra in the No. 1 match, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8, while Sarhan and Shah prevailed in four games. Bicknell outlasted Varun Fuloria in the No. 7 match, as the sides alternated victories throughout the five-game match.

Columbia's Shaurya Bawa avenged dropping the first two games against senior Arnaav Sareen at the No. 2 match with three straight victories, 2-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6. Nam (No. 3), Athar (No. 4), and Goad (No. 8) all won in four games for the Lions, who snapped their four-match losing streak. Thomas Soltanian (No. 6) was the lone Lions player to post a straight-game victory as he defeated senior Shreemann Raghavan, 11-5, 11-6, 12-10.

SERIES HISTORY WITH COLUMBIA
Cornell enters Thursday afternoon's match against Columbia with a 9-10 record versus the Lions.

Columbia took control of the series lead with its victory over the Big Red at the Belkin Squash Courts last month. The Lions have won nine of the previous 11 matches.

Thursday's match will mark the second meeting between Cornell and Columbia in the CSA National Team Championships. Columbia secured a 6-3 victory on March 1, 2020, during the championship match of the Hoehn Cup.