Lions head to National Championships

The Columbia men’s squash team will head to Princeton, N.J., to compete at the College Squash Association National Team Championships this weekend. The No. 14 Lions (5-10) will compete in the tournament’s B Division, with their first game against Navy on Friday.

This season has been a great success for the relatively new team, heavily populated with freshmen and sophomores under the direction of head coach Jacques Swanepoel. Squash only became a varsity sport at Columbia in the fall of 2010, and Swanepoel has been pleased by the forward strides the players have already made.

The Light Blue has set several impressive milestones this season, including its first Ancient Eight win, which came against the Bears, and placement in the B Division at Nationals.

“This season has definitely been a success,” Swanepoel said. “We had a first Ivy win in the history of the program. They work extremely hard in practice and matches. We look pretty strong going into the nationals.”

“Beating Brown has been the biggest milestone in our program,” senior co-captain Anchit Nayar said.

Nayar added that it will be a challenge to continue the program’s growth and development as the Light Blue faces tough Ivy League opponents, but he is confident that it is within the Lions’ reach.

At last year’s National Championships, Columbia played in the C Division. In the opening round, the Lions faced Wesleyan, who had lost 5-4 to the Light Blue earlier in the season. But at Nationals, the Lions were unable to duplicate the win, falling 6-3 to the Pioneers.

In this year’s first round against Navy, the Lions will be looking for revenge against the Midshipmen, who dominated the Light Blue 7-2 in January when the two teams faced off.

Columbia has already played all the teams in the B Division during its regular season, and the Lions hope to step up their level of play to that of their opponents.

“It will be a good experience,” junior co-captain Tony Zou said. “Tough matches toughen us up. We have been playing in the higher level. I believe Ivy is the highest level for squash and I think it’s time for us to play on that level.”

Friday’s match will begin at 1:30 p.m., and a win would send the Lions into the tournament’s semifinals on Saturday.