Kachur, Heaton Reach Molloy Semifinals

Friday, March 6

Philadelphia, Pa.

All Day

Drexel University

CSA Individual Championships

Photo by: Jeffrey Fehn

3/6/2020 9:15:00 PM | Men's Squash

Championship Central

PHILADELPHIA – The quest for second team all-American status is still alive for Dylan Kachur and Noel Heaton after the first day of the College Squash Association Individual Championships at the Penn Squash Center in Philadelphia. The Drexel duo won two matches each on Friday to reach the semifinals of their respective Molloy Division brackets.

Kachur reached the last four of the Molloy North bracket behind a pair of gutsy wins. He overcame an early deficit in the round of 16 to topple Aditya Kankariya of Columbia. Kankariya took the first set, 11-9, but Kachur rallied for three successive victories (11-3, 11-6, 11-8). The junior from Bethlehem, Conn. then went the distance in the quarterfinals. He and Thijs Van der Pluijm of Rochester traded wins across the first four games of the match before Kachur won big in the final game for a 12-10, 6-11, 11-5, 2-11, 11-4 win.

Kachur is two wins away from winning the Molloy North bracket and earning second team all-American status. He plays St. Lawrence's Enzo Corigliano tomorrow at 11:55 a.m. The Molloy North championship match is set for 11:10 a.m. on Sunday.

Heaton's path to the Molloy West semifinals was less stressful. He took early control of his round of 16 matchup against Brown's Maximo Moyer with 11-9 and 11-3 wins. A hiccup in the third game gave Moyer the 11-6 victory, but Heaton put the match to bed with an 11-9 win in the fourth. The native of Calgary, Alberta swept aside Udai Pal of Williams – 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 – in the quarterfinals.

Like Kachur, Heaton needs two more wins to become a second team all-American. He faces Yale's Harrison Gill in the semifinals tomorrow at 3:25 p.m. The Molloy West final is set for Sunday at 10:20 a.m.

Gautam Nagpal remains alive in the consolation bracket in the Molloy East Division. He dropped his opener to Aryan Parekh of Franklin & Marshall (11-5, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9) but picked up a 14-12, 4-11, 11-4, 11-9 win over Bowdoin's Tyler Shonrock in the consolation quarterfinals. He plays Columbia's Justin Ghaeli in the consolation semifinals tomorrow at 12:45 p.m.

Filip Krueger and Matthew Lucente both won their opening matches before bowing out in the quarterfinals.

José López – Molloy North
Rd. of 16: Abdul Malik (Chatham) def. José López (Drexel), 11-2, 9-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7
Cons. QFs: Jacob Kagan (Middlebury) def. José López (Drexel), 11-6, 11-6, 11-5

Dylan Kachur – Molloy North
Rd. of 16: Dylan Kachur (Drexel) def. Aditya Kankariya (Columbia), 9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-8
QFs: Dylan Kachur (Drexel) def. Thijs Van der Pluijm (Rochester) – 12-10, 6-11, 11-5, 2-11, 11-4
SFs: Dylan Kachur (Drexel) vs. Enzo Corigliano (St. Lawrence) – Saturday, 11:55 a.m.

Filip Krueger – Molloy South
Rd. of 16: Filip Krueger (Drexel) def. Michael Kacergis (Navy), 12-10, 13-11, 11-7
QFs: Yash Bhargava def. Filip Krueger (Drexel), 11-5, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7

Gautam Nagpal – Molloy East
Rd. of 16: Aryan Parekh (F&M) def. Gautam Nagpal (Drexel), 11-5, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9
Cons. QFs: Gautam Nagpal (Drexel) def. Tyler Shonrock (Bowdoin), 14-12, 4-11, 11-4, 11-9
Cons. SFs: Gautam Nagpal (Drexel) vs. Justin Ghaeli (Columbia) – Saturday, 12:45 p.m.

Noel Heaton – Molloy West
Rd. of 16: Noel Heaton (Drexel) def. Maximo Moyer (Brown), 11-9, 11-3, 6-11, 11-9
QFs: Noel Heaton (Drexel) def. Udai Pal (Williams), 11-4, 11-6, 11-3
SFs: Noel Heaton (Drexel) vs. Harrison Gill (Yale) – Saturday, 3:25 p.m.

Matthew Lucente – Molloy West
Rd. of 16: Matthew Lucente (Drexel) def. Sean Choi (Wesleyan), 11-3, 11-6, 11-1
QFs: Aly Eltokhy (Trinity) def. Matthew Lucente (Drexel), 11-5, 11-4, 11-7