Nickhileswar Moganasundharam became the first Malaysian BU19 champion and Talia Zakaria made it back-to-back GU19 titles for Egypt, while Team USA and Canada swept the younger divisions on U.S. Junior Open finals day Tuesday, December 23, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
View live stream replays from the Specter Center and all results on ussquash.org/live. Tournament photography will be available on the US Squash Smugmug page.
The U.S. Junior Open is the world’s largest individual squash tournament with 977 players representing forty-five nations contesting more than 2,200 matches. The four day tournament was held across six venues including the Specter Center, Penn Squash Center, Drexel’s Kline & Specter Squash Center, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Springside Chestnut Hill Main and Springside Chestnut Hill Vare.
The thirty podium finishers represented seven nations including the United States, Canada, Egypt, Malaysia, India, Belgium and Peru, while just four took home titles.
The U19 age divisions yielded two first time champions in Moganasundharam and Zakary. The Malaysian top seed clinched the title in a close five-game final against American two seed Yaseen Shalaby 7-11, 11-2, 13-15, 11-9, 11-3 in 118 minutes. With his win, Moganasundharam makes history as the first Malaysian USJO boys champion in any age division.
Zakaria, younger sister of men’s world No. 11 Mohamed Zakaria, returned to the USJO for the first time since competing in the U11 division and competed on the same court as her brother in October’s U.S. Open. The sixteen-year-old entered the draw as the four seed and upset both GU19 top seeds in five games in the semifinals and finals. Zakaria defeated American top seed Isabella Tang in the semifinals and won the final against Belgium’s two seed Savannah Moxham 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8 in fifty minutes.
The U17s produced two American first-time champions in Reghan McLaughlin and Brendan Tagliarini. McLaughlin, the two seed, pulled off an impressive five-game comeback against top seed Charlotte Sze in the final 11-13, 3-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-5 in fifty-six minutes. Two years after falling short in the BU15 final, Tagliarini captured his first title as the BU17 top seed, defeating Egypt’s three seed Yassin Kouritam 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 in fifty minutes.
Canada produced the nation’s first USJO champions since Nick Sachvie in 2010 with a BU15 title from Obie Ryding and GU11 title from Eugenie Cao. In his fourth tournament appearance, Ryding put together a title run as the five seed including a semifinal upset over Egypt’s top seed, and dramatic five-game final against India’s six seed Dhruv Bopana 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 12-14, 11-8. Cao entered her second USJO as the GU11 two seed and won the title in a five-game final against American top seed Elizabeth Kung 11-3, 13-11, 5-11, 5-11, 11-7.
Team USA’s Vivienne Sze, a three-time USJO champion in the U11 and U13 divisions, extended her impressive USJO title record with her first in the U15 division, fulfilling her top seeding with a 3-0 final win against Egypt’s two seed Sandy Hassan. GU13 top seed Kaylee Li won her second USJO title and first in the U13 division against seven seed Kyra Wang in an all-American final.
Teddy Edwards, the BU13 seven seed, marked his USJO debut with a surprise title run, culminating in an all-American final against five seed Zephyr Wang. After a sixth place finish in his USJO debut last year, Houston’s Azlan Khan returned as the BU11 top seed and earned his first title with a four-game final win against American three seed Thopson Wang.