NEW YORK – Three members of the University of Rochester squash team competed this weekend with some of the best collegiate squash players in the country, representing the Yellowjackets at the College Squash Association Individual National Championships at the FiDi Open Squash Center.
 
This year's event took on a new format, with a 32-player draw for the Pool trophy for the overall individual national title, and four other eight-player draws battling for Molloy Cup (B Divisions) trophies. The tournament also moved its dates around, taking place in the middle of the squash season, instead of its typical March date following the team national championships.
 
Rochester's entrants were seniors Yash Fadte and Omar Zakaria and sophomore Dhirren Rajarathinam. Fadte competed in the top draw for the Pool trophy, while the other two players were in Molloy division brackets.
 
Rajarathinam made the deepest run of the Yellowjacket entrants, reaching the championship match of the Molloy East region. In the opening round on Saturday afternoon, Rajarathinam needed to rally to defeat Conner Stoltz of Harvard, securing a 5-game victory to advance. The UR sophomore fell behind 2-1 after dropping games one and three, but battled back with 11-7 triumphs in the final two games.
 
In the second round on Saturday morning, it was another five-game affair against top-seeded Maxwell Velazquez of Virginia, with Rajarathinam edging out the victory with a 12-10 score in the fifth game.
 
During the championship match, a more rested Huzaifa Ibrahim of Trinity College swept the 'Jacket player in three games (11-8, 11-6, 12-10), claiming the region title.
 
Zakaria finished the weekend with a 1-1 record, reaching the semifinals of the Molloy South bracket. On Saturday, the senior co-captain defeated Franklin & Marshall's Jordan Sprecher in four games (11-4, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6) to advance to Saturday's action.
 
In his morning match on day two, a tough player from Virginia, Dylan Moran, was able to get past Zakaria in three games. The UVA player needed extra points in the final game to secure the win, 11-7, 11-7 and 15-13.
 
During the Pool Division action, Fadte was defeated by another UVA entrant in his opening round match on Saturday morning. Juan Jose Torres won over the Yellowjacket senior 12-10, 11-8 and 11-3 to advance.
 
In his consolation round competition later on Saturday, Fadte battled Cornell's Aaron Liang to a five-game marathon. Fadte won the opener 11-9 and had a chance to win after the players traded 11-7 games over the next two, but Liang stayed alive with a 11-8 game four win. In the fifth, the Cornell player broke a 10-10 tie with two straight points to steal the victory.
 
Rochester returns to the team schedule next weekend, playing at Navy on Saturday before taking on Franklin & Marshall in a neutral site match on Sunday.