Ramit Tandon Finishes As 2012 CSA National Runner-Up

AMHERST, Mass. - The 2012 CSA Individual National Championships came down to a highly anticipated title match between Harvard's Ali Farag and Columbia first-year standout Ramit Tandon on Sunday, March 4 at 1 p.m. in Amherst, Mass. It was a battle of the top two ranked players in college squash. Farag remains number one after defeating Tandon 12-10, 11-8, 11-4 in the final.

"It was one of the best finals I've ever seen," said Jacques Swanepoel, Columbia Alumni and Friends Head Coach of Squash. "Even though Ramit didn't win, the quality of the match was great for a squash finals match."

On his way to the title match, Tandon won four straight matches in two days. His first match on Friday, March 2 was a 3-0 win over Ryan Dowd of Yale. He followed with a win later in the day over Yale's Kenneth Chan by a score of 11-5, 10-11, 11-5, 11-3.

Another bright spot for the Lions was Tony Zou's upset win over Standford's Christopher Baldock in the first match of the Molly Division. Zou captured the victory by a score of 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9 but fell to Mousafa Hamada of Trinity in the next round.

On Saturday, March 3 Tandon returned to get another pair of wins. After dropping the first game 9-11, he rallied to defeat Andres Duany of Rochester 11-10, 11-8, 11-4 for a semi-final matchup with the 2011 CSA national champion Todd Harrity of Princeton.

Harrity and Tandon met earlier this season with Tandon pulling the upset win in four games, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5 during Ivy League play. A 3-0 victory, with a score of 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 sent Tandon to the title match of the 2012 CSA National Championships.

The runner-up finish for Tandon marks the best in Columbia's young program history. The first team All-American caps the 2012 season ranked as the number two player in college squash.

Round 32     1 Farag,Ali (1) Harvard University   Ct 1,Fri, 3/2 11:20am 2 Perkiomaki,Adam J Rochester, Universit   3 McLaughlin,Brandon Harvard University   Ct 3,Fri, 3/2 10:40am 4 De Melo,Gabriel Franklin and Marshal   5 Callis,Christopher C. Princeton University   Ct 3,Fri, 3/2 11:30am 6 Chapman,Joe S Rochester, Universit   7 Hopcroft,Nicholas Harvard University   Ct 5,Fri, 3/2 11:30am 8 Diaz Glez,Antonio Trinity College   9 Hanson,Christopher R. Dartmouth College   Ct 7,Fri, 3/2 11:30am 10 Kang,Samuel Princeton   11 Dodd,Richard W. Yale   Ct 9,Fri, 3/2 11:30am 12 Mattsson,Thomas W. Pennsylvania    13 Spettigue,Thomas L. Cornell   Ct 3,Fri, 3/2 12:20pm 14 Zarazua,Miled M Trinity    15 El-Fiky,Islam K. George Washington   Ct 1,Fri, 3/2 12:10pm 16 Malhotra,Vikram (4) Trinity    17 Harrity,Todd B.(3) Princeton   Ct 5,Fri, 3/2 12:20pm 18 Sedano,Mauricio A. Franklin & Marshall   19 Osborne,Tyler Princeton   Ct 7,Fri, 3/2 12:20pm 20 Sisodia,Nicholas S Dartmouth    21 Fischer,Benjamin Rochester   Ct 9,Fri, 3/2 12:20pm 22 Power,Gary A Harvard   23 Shannon,Kelly D Princeton   Ct 3,Fri, 3/2 1:10pm 24 Sachvie,Nicholas Cornell   25 De Melo,Guilherme F. Franklin & Marshall   Ct 5,Fri, 3/2 1:10pm 26 Detter,Johan Trinity    27 Roberts,John J Yale    Ct 7,Fri, 3/2 1:10pm 28 Duany,Andres Rochester   29 Chan,Kenneth Yale    Ct 9,Fri, 3/2 1:10pm 30 Domenick,Alex Cornell   31 Dowd,Ryan D Yale   Ct 1,Fri, 3/2 1:00pm 32 Tandon,Ramit (2) Columbia      Round 16     Farag,A(1)   5,7,5 Ct 3,Fri, 3/2 7:00pm McLaughlin,B   3,1,4 Chapman,J   (4),(2),9,1,4 Ct 7,Fri, 3/2 7:00pm Diaz Glez,A   11,10,(6),6 Kang,S   (9),(5),11,6,4 Ct 9,Fri, 3/2 7:00pm Dodd,R   (8),(8),9,7,1 Zarazua,M   (8),9,12,(7),6 Ct 5,Fri, 3/2 7:00pm Malhotra,V(4)   7,2,10 Harrity,T(3)   3,5,1 Ct 5,Fri, 3/2 7:45pm Osborne,T   3,7,5 Fischer,B   (12),4,4,6 Ct 7,Fri, 3/2 7:45pm Shannon,K   10,5,9 De Melo,G   6,(9),6,10 Ct 9,Fri, 3/2 7:45pm Duany,A   (9),2,(8),3,6 Chan,K   (5),8,10,11 Ct 3,Fri, 3/2 7:45pm Tandon,R(2)   3,4,5   Quarters     Farag,A(1)   6,5,4 Ct 1,Sat, 3/3 1:30pm Diaz Glez,A   11,(7),2,(7),4 Kang,S   8,1,6 Ct 3,Sat, 3/3 1:20pm Malhotra,V(4)   5,9,(7),8 Harrity,T(3)   8,8,(9),7 Ct 3,Sat, 3/3 2:20pm Shannon,K   7,9,(3),10 Duany,A   2,8,5 Ct 1,Sat, 3/3 2:30pm Tandon,R(2)   5,(10),5,3   Semis     Farag,A(1)   4,6,3 Ct 1,Sat, 3/3 6:30pm Malhotra,V(4)   10,7,5 Harrity,T(3)   7,1,9 Ct 1,Sat, 3/3 7:30pm Tandon,R(2)   (9),10,8,4   Finals     Farag,A(1)   11,1,4 Winner: Farag,A(1) 10,8,4 Ct 1,Sun, 3/4 1:00pm Tandon,R(2)   7,5,6

2012 CSA Men's Individual National Championships