Recap
The 2025 Mosquito Open & Mosquito Open Banquet
Squash Committee Chair Ahmar Abbas talk- ed about his passion for squash and the lack of U.S. based squash tournaments over the summer months that led to such interest in the Mosquito Open. Squash Committee Vice Chair Emily Black spoke about the squash community and its positive influence on her life. Board of Governors Vice President Cindy Ziegler discussed the importance of the squash community to the broader club and Squash Director John Harriss reflected on his four months on the job interacting with club mem- bers. The crowd was then treated to a wonderful keynote speech by 34-year club veteran Dave Cleveland. Dave delighted the audience with reflections on his time at UClub and various observations about what club life was like when he first joined. He commented on the robust and supportive nature of today’s UClub squash community and remarked, “We have a great squash community. Let’s help each other be better players!” Squash Committee member Zach Hollander then made three big announcements about upcoming programming, including an internal UClub team league, a Halloween tournament and the unveiling of a spectacular treasure from the “attic” - a vintage wooden Squash “Ladder” board that will launch the UClub ladder in January 2026. Finally, squash community members were rec- ognized for their broader contributions to the community with superlative awards (see below) that delighted everyone and added to the fes- tive and supportive nature of the evening.
Squash Power Couple: Elizabeth Stockton & Chris Fitzpatrick
Spirit Award Women: Katie Coleman
Spirit Award Men: Fernando Vasquez
Masters Squash Star: Meg Murray
From August 1st through 3rd, the University Club was “buzzing” with squash activity as the club hosted its annual Mosquito Open Squash Tournament - an open invitational to club members and non-members played in three different divisions of expertise. The tournament proved to be the largest UClub tournament ever hosted, attracting over 70 total participants. Nearly 40 UClub members got to face off against a wide variety of skilled players from across the Washington, D.C. area, but also from as far away as Rich- mond, VA, Louisville, KY, and Los Angeles, CA, giving Club members a great and varied experience. In the end, all three divisions were won by UClub members, showcasing the power and prestige this mighty squash community has to demonstrate! The A-draw was the largest with 32 players and provided intense competition and spec- tating with ten UClub members taking to the courts to show their skills. A potential all-UClub final was averted when member Rohan Bagli came up short in the semi-fi- nals against South African native and squash coach Justin Cook. Justin then faced UClub’s Nicolas “Nico” Valderrama in the finals, where Nico prevailed 3-0 and clinched a per- fect tournament, not dropping a single game. In the B-draw, Alex Quianzon, dazzled sign-waving supporters and spectators alike in a five game match with ups and downs against the #2 seed from Reston, VA, Pul- kit Parikh. After 99 points of play, Alex prevailed, having also played a grueling four-game match earlier in the day against
UClub’s Fernando Vasquez, who took third place in the draw. In the C-draw, summer member and recent convert to squash, Alex Greenspan, faced off against fellow-club member, Herb Allen, and won his first tournament title. Herb man- aged to fight his way past UClub member Sebastian Krajlevich in the quarterfinals in five games to make it to the finals and had a stellar performance throughout. The tournament included consolation match- es, adding to over 100 total matches played - so many that satellite courts were needed at nearby Squash on Fire (SOF) to accommo- date all of the play over three days. UClub members distinguished themselves across the board in consolation matches, including Hughes Benjamin, who returned to D.C. from medical school in Chapel Hill, NC, to play in the tournament. Hughes took the A-draw consolation after a great semi-fi- nal victory on SOF’s glass court and then a 3-1 win over the formidable Mark Martinkov in the finals. Grant Binder fought hard, but came up short in the B-draw consolation finals to Andrew Solender of Washington, D.C., and Meg Murray continued her squash tournament success in the C-draw consola- tion over new UClub member Jack Hutensky. The fellowship and fun continued off the courts at the candle-lit banquet in University Hall on Saturday night. Players and squash community friends enjoyed drinks and beef short-rib before a fun-filled program em- cee’d by Jonathan Black.
Rising Star Women: Mariana Diehl
Rising Star Men: Alex Greenspan
New Squash Parents: Catarina Thomaz & Fernando Vasquez // Aveen Karim & Francisco Martin-Rayo // Hope & Nico Valderrama* // Danielle Letourneau & Abir Ray* // Meredith Strike & Mac Schwerin*
*Not present Photos by Jeremy Skog Content provided by Emily Black
44
45
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs