Nine days of intense competition at the Daskalakis Athletic Center culminated with a pair of thrilling championship matches at the Delaware Investments 2012 U.S. Open Squash Championships. Top-ranked Nicol David, of Malaysia, won in four games over the No. 2 seed Egyptian Raneem El Weleily. On the men’s side, Ramy Ashour, an Egyptian who is one of the faces of men’s squash internationally, claimed the title out as the No. 4 seed in a three-game victory over France’s Gregory Gaultier.
The victors shared a purse of $185,000, making the tournament, which is in its second year being hosted by Drexel, one of the top-paying events on the professional squash circuit.
“It’s been a great week, everyone here does a tremendous job and makes us all feel so welcome, so thanks to everyone involved and we’re all looking forward to next year already,” said Ashour, whose victory was his first triumph at the U.S. Open.
The tournament saw thousands of squash fans descend on Drexel during the week to get a glimpse at the top squash players from around the world. The championship games were televised on ESPN3 for the second year, drawing an international audience to the tournament’s centerpiece glass court constructed in Drexel’s varsity basketball arena.