The top squash players in the world are beginning to descend upon Philadelphia this week in advance of the 2011 Delaware Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships, to be held at Drexel's Daskalakis Athletic Center from September 30 to October 6. Qualifying opened Wednesday, September 28 as several world-class players, including Drexel Head Coach John White, attempt to play their way into the final bracket.
Friday, September 30 is Drexel Day at the U.S. Open Squash Tournament. All Drexel students, faculty and staff can come watch the tournament for free with a Drexel ID. The morning session takes place from noon to 4 p.m., and an evening session from 5 to 8 p.m.
The world's top-ranked men and women have entered the 2011 field, led by top-ranked players Nick Matthew and Nicol David. They will compete for $175,000 in combined prize money and the most prestigious squash title in the United States. The 32-player men's main draw will feature 22 of the top 25 ranked men, while the 16-player women's draw will feature 13 of the 16 ranked women.
U.S. SQUASH CEO Kevin Klipstein said, “We are extremely excited for the U.S. Open to return to Philadelphia, a city with a deep history in the sport and an outstanding squash community. Partnering with Drexel University will allow us to take the U.S. Open to an entirely new level, developing it into what we fully anticipate to be the best squash tournament in the world for fans and players alike.”
To that, President John A. Fry said, “We are truly honored to be the host of this remarkable championship.”
Tickets for the event are now available through the U.S. Open Squash website. The event will be streamed worldwide on psasquashtv.com, with the semifinals and finals also being streamed on ESPN3. Fox Television will also be broadcasting the tournament in Australia and Malaysia.
DrexelDragons.com will have the complete main brackets available as qualifying progresses.
Delaware Investments is the title sponsor for this year's tournament. For more information about the tournament, click here.
To view the full schedule, click here.
Check out this exciting video created by Drexel Athletics to get you in the squash mindset.