Rob reports on the Finals
In one of the most closely contested College Women’s Individuals finals in recent years, Princeton junior Zeina Zein successfully defended her 2025 title by defeating Harvard sophomore Caroline Fouts 11-8, 12-10, 5-11, 14-12 on Wednesday afternoon on the portable court in Grand Central Station.
In so doing, Zein became the first Princeton woman to win this prestigious championship back-to-back in the quarter-century since Julia Beaver won the last of her three-straight Individuals in 2001.
In the men’s final, Penn’s senior captain Omar Hafez, who was runner-up to his Quaker teammate Salman Khalil a year ago, this time took the final step with a decisive 11-5, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3 victory over Trinity freshman Ashab Irfan.
In both finals, the close second games proved enormously important.
Trailing 6-0 and later 9-7 in that frame, Zein conjured up perhaps the most creative shot of the day, a backhand cross-drop from the back-left corner, following which she was awarded two consecutive strokes to get to 10-9.
A Fouts forehand drop-shot winner tied the score, but she then tinned a forehand drive and was unable to retrieve a well-disguised Zein backhand cross-court that died in the back-right corner, in the immediate aftermath of which the normally self-contained Zein let out a triumphant yell.
In the men’s second game, Irfan saved three consecutive game-balls against him to get to 9-10, only to lose the subsequent point when Hafez got to a backhand working-boast early enough to guide a forehand drop shot winner.
Both Zein and Hafez had letdowns in losing their respective third games
But at that stage their matches diverged.
Hafez, who evinces power whether he is pounding the ball or retrieving it, overwhelmed a visibly besieged Irfan in the close-out fourth game, blasting his way to a 6-1 lead and closing it out from there.
Meanwhile, Zein and Fouts grimly battled their way deep into the tiebreaker, during which Fouts twice served at game-ball (at 11-10 and 12-11) before Zein was able to torturously bootstrap her way through the final three points.
The action got increasingly physical during the last stretch of points, featuring numerous stoppages of play and a series of excruciatingly close calls for the referee. Indeed, from 9-all the eight remaining official points required 13 serves and only three of those points (two tins and one winner) were decided without a referee’s decision.
In addition to those three points, there were five lets, two no-lets (including one on the second-last point) and three stroke calls, the last of which ended the match when Fouts hit a wayward backhand volley back to herself.
All four finalists demonstrated great courage, skill, athleticism and sportsmanship, displaying college squash at its very best and setting the stage for the exciting dual meets and team tournaments that await during the next half-dozen weeks.
