KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — National squash ace S. Sivasangari triumphed at the College Squash Association (CSA) National Collegiate Individual Championships, to clinch her first individual title for Cornell University. 

In the final held on Sunday at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, Philadelphia, United States (US), Sivasangari secured a 3-2 win against Hana Moataz of Harvard University. 

The 23-year-old recorded an 11-4, 2-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-7 victory to complete a perfect season with 19-0 record. 

Cornell’s coach David Palmer, who predicted a hard final, praised the Malaysian for displaying great fighting spirit. 

"Sivasangari started fantastically and totally dominated the first game. Then Hana stepped up in the next games with some powerful hitting, and the two of them were having some great rallies.

"In the fifth game, Sivasangari really worked her all over the court, and we could see Hana starting to get tired. That’s when Siva slowed the pace and exposed her slow movements with some great angles to win points, and this time she converted the championship point. 

"We were really proud of how Siva kept her mental strength in the fifth. That made the difference in the end,” he said in the university’s sports portal, www.cornellbigred.com. 

 The Kedahan had an excellent record in the competition, winning straight sets over Andrea Lee of Colby University (11-3, 11-4, 11-2), Alina Bushma of Drexel University (11-7, 11-5, 11-4), and Marina Stefanoni of Harvard (11-5, 12-10, 11-9).

CSA National Collegiate Individual Championships took place from March 4 to 6. — Bernama