The top four men’s and women’s seeds prevailed in the quarterfinals of the 2019 U.S. Women’s & S.L. Green U.S. Men’s Championships Thursday, March 28, at Squash on Fire in Washington, DC.
Two-time men’s champion and one seed Todd Harrity defeated Harrison Gill, 11-7, 11-5, 11-3, and will face four seed and 2013 champion Chris Gordon on Friday. On the women’s side, 2017 champion and top seed Olivia Blatchford Clyne won in straight games over Lucie Stefanoni, 11-3, 11-3, 11-4. Lucie’s older sister, Marina, three-time GU19 champion, won a hard-fought five-game match against Laila Sedky, the only quarterfinal competition to go the distance.
“Heading into that fifth game, my goal was to stay relaxed,” Marina said. “I’ve been in high pressure situations, but I know that I play better when I’m relaxed. In the semis, I’m looking forward to playing against Olivia. She’s a great player and it will be a good experience. Hopefully I can make her work.”
The other semifinal match on the women’s side features two seed Reeham Sedky against 2014 champion and three seed Sabrina Sobhy. Sedky won the College Individuals on the same court two years ago, and defeated Sobhy in a PSA final two weeks ago in Canada.
The second men’s semifinal will stage a rematch of the past two S.L. Green finals between two-time defending champion, Chris Hanson, and three seed Andrew Douglas. Douglas, a Penn sophomore, dispatched Princeton’s Cole Becker in a decisive three games, while Hanson held off a tough challenge from his Men’s Word Team Championship teammate, Faraz Khan.
“Every match is tough at the National Championships,” said Hanson, who was supported by family members. “Every round is a struggle, including the quarterfinal I just came out of. I’m glad the crowd enjoyed the match. And they seemed to like me. That helped a lot.”
The National Singles welcomes age group play on Friday from 12pm noon local time, with the professional semifinals set to play out from 5pm.
Follow live streaming from all Squash on Fire courts and live scores for all matches powered by Club Locker on ussquash.com/live.