ITHACA, N.Y. — Four Cornell women's squash representatives will compete in New York City this weekend as the CSA Individual National Championships get underway Friday afternoon at the Open Squash - FiDi.

Junior Xin Ying Yee, seniors Aishwarya Khubchandani and Alysa Ali, and freshman Vicky Lai will represent the Big Red, with three players bringing experience from their previous appearances at the annual tournament.

Yee returns to the championship stage after a strong run last season as a sophomore in the Ramsay Cup bracket. She advanced to the semifinals, ultimately falling to the eventual champion, Princeton's Zeina Zein, in straight games. This season, Yee has posted a 4-2 record exclusively from the No. 1 position. The junior enters the tournament as the seventh seed and has received a bye to the Round of 32, where she will face either Princeton's Caroline Eielson or Yale's Spring Ma at 6 p.m. Friday on Court No. 6.

Ali, one of Cornell's two senior representatives, enters the weekend tied with junior Maya Voloshin for the team lead in wins with identical 6-2 records. The senior had her four-match win streak snapped last Sunday when she lost to Harvard's Saran Nghiem in straight games, but brings impressive championship pedigree to New York City. Last season, Ali advanced to the semifinals of the Holleran West bracket before falling to Virginia's Maryam Mian in four games. As a sophomore in 2023-24, Ali reached the finals of the same bracket, defeating St. Lawrence's Anannya Morey, Yale's Meghna Sreedhar and Colby's Andrea Lee Jia Qi before falling to Trinity's Lujan Palacios in four games. Ali will face Colby's Nathalie Sim in the Round of 64 at 12:50 p.m. on Court No. 5, with the winner advancing to meet third-seeded Caroline Fouts of Harvard in the Round of 32 on Friday at 6 p.m. on Court No. 2.

Khubchandani, Cornell's other senior entry, will be making her fourth consecutive appearance at the individual championships while carrying unique motivation into the weekend. The senior has faced Stanford's Madison Ho in the consolation semifinals in each of the last two seasons, falling in four games both times. This year, the two will meet much earlier in the tournament, squaring off in the Round of 64 at 1:40 p.m. on Court No. 8, with the winner advancing to face second-seeded Malak Khafagy of Penn in the Round of 32 at 6 p.m. Friday on Court No. 1. Khubchandani captured the Holleran West Cup title as a freshman in 2022-23 with victories over Wesleyan's Avika Pande, Franklin & Marshall's Audrey Berling, Virginia's Olivia Walsh and Harvard's Brecon Welch. This season, Khubchandani is 1-5 overall, with her lone win coming when her opponent retired in her only match played at No. 1. The remainder of her matches have been played at the No. 2 position.

Lai, Cornell's freshman representative, will be making her individual championship debut this weekend. The first-year player has compiled a solid 5-3 record on the season, including an impressive 3-0 mark in matches played between the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Lai will face Colby's Laavanya Kugan in the Round of 64 at noon on Court No. 7, with the winner advancing to take on fifth-seeded Charlotte Pastel of Virginia in the Round of 32 at 5 p.m. on Court No. 6.

FRIDAY'S CSA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Round of 64
Winners advance to Round of 32; losers move to Women's Plate
FiDi Court No. 7: Vicky Lai (Cornell) vs. Laavanya Kugan (Colby), Noon
FiDi Court No. 5: Nathalie Sim (Colby) vs. Alysa Ali (Cornell), 12:50 p.m.
FiDi Court No. 8: Aishwarya Khubchandani (Cornell) vs. Madison Ho (Stanford), 1:40 p.m.

Round of 32
Winners advance to Round of 16; losers move to Consolation Pool
FiDi Court No. 6: 5-Charlotte Pastel (Virginia) vs. Lai/Kugan winner, 5 p.m.
FiDi Court No. 2: 3-Caroline Fouts (Harvard) vs. Sim/Ali winner, 6 p.m.
FiDi Court No. 6: 7-Xin Ying Yee (Cornell) vs. Caroline Eielson (Princeton)/Spring Ma (Yale) winner, 6 p.m.
FiDi Court No. 1: Khubchandani/Ho winner vs. 2-Malak Khafagy (Penn), 6 p.m.