Fordham Squash kicked off their 2022-23 season this past weekend, playing in six matches against six different opponents. The Rams won their opening five matches before falling to Georgetown University on Sunday afternoon to make their record 5-1 after one weekend of action. 

On Friday, Fordham played in their first match since last February as they hosted the Cornell University club team at the Lombardi Squash Courts. Fordham came out on top 6-3, getting big wins from key contributors along the way. Freshman Adham Nassar got the win in first position, while fellow freshman Nicholas Gilman was victorious in second position. 

Saturday saw Fordham begin the day upstate with two matches in Poughkeepsie against Bard College and Vassar College before traveling back to the Bronx for a home match against the Harvard University club team in the evening. The Rams rolled over Bard by a score of 8-1 before securing a much closer 5-4 win against Vassar. In the Bard match, Fordham’s only defeat was in first position, when Gilman fell to the Raptors’ Artemy Mukhin. Sophomore Aarav Jhunjhunwala and freshman Jack Stanley were among the winners for the Rams, defeating Bard’s Jacob Nathan and Asa Kaplan, respectively.

The Vassar contest immediately followed, with Fordham getting little time to rest in between matches. The Raptors proved to be a tough test for the Rams, but Fordham narrowly escaped Poughkeepsie with a 5-4 win. Gilman and junior Henry Frawley picked up key victories in that one in second and third positions.

Later that afternoon, the Rams concluded their tripleheader with another win, this time by a score of 6-3 against the Harvard club team. The lower positions for the Rams secured the victory in that one, as Fordham had winners in seventh position, sophomore Sofia Arseniev, eighth position, sophomore Robert Cruikshank and ninth position, junior Nicholas Choo.

To wrap up the weekend, Fordham competed in two matches on Sunday against Boston University (BU) and Georgetown. The Rams dominated against BU, winning by a score of 7-2. Nassar and Gilman once again picked up wins in first and second position, with Nassar topping Pablo Rodriguez in five games and Gilman getting the better of Milan Tahliani in four games.

But Fordham couldn’t quite finish off a perfect opening weekend on Sunday afternoon against Georgetown. The Hoyas came out ready to play, defeating the Rams by the comfortable margin of 7-2. Gilman was victorious once again in second position, defeating Alex Bernhard in five games. Fordham’s only other win in this one came courtesy of Cruikshank, who beat Teddy Donohue in four.

Despite not pulling off the sweep, it was a successful opening weekend for the Rams. The new freshmen Nassar and Gilman shined brightly at the top of the Fordham lineup in their first collegiate action. Look for them to continue to lead the way for the Rams.

Next up for Fordham Squash is the Navy Round Robin this coming weekend, where the Rams will travel south to Annapolis to compete against five different opponents.