The largest National Doubles the tournament’s eighty-eight-year history–featuring 157 teams–produced two first-time Open champions in Kayley Leonard & Maria Elena Ubina and Kyle Martino & Elroy Leong, March 1-3, in Philadelphia.
Twenty age group and skill level national titles were decided across five different venues including the Cynwyd Club, Germantown Cricket Club, Merion Cricket Club, Philadelphia Country Club and Philadelphia Cricket Club. View all results on the National Doubles tournament page. Watch Live Stream replays on the US Squash Youtube Channel. Tournament photography is available on the US Squash Smugmug Page.
Leonard & Ubina, the Women’s Open top seeds, reached the final with a 3-0 semifinal win over Julia Le Coq & Jana Shiha to set up a final against two seeds and defending champions Lauren West & Georgina Stoker. Leonard & Ubina went on to capture their first national title together 15-12, 15-14, 15-7.
“It was a great weekend overall, this was the first Nationals Doubles tournament that Maria Elena and I have played so we were even more thrilled to bring home the win,” Leonard said. “There was great energy the whole weekend across the Philly clubs hosting the tournament and it was great to be able to reconnect with the broader doubles community outside of the pro circuit. We had some exciting matches over the weekend – in the semis, we played two great singles players who are up and coming on the doubles tour before meeting the hometown favorites (Gina and Lauren) in the final; we have played them several times in the past and have had very tight/competitive matches so we were lucky to sneak this one out in three games. Excited to continue playing this tournament in future years and help in the continued growth of this tournament, particularly on the women’s side.”
Martino & Leong entered the tournament as the Men’s Open two seeds and had to come back from 1-0 down to defeat Clinton Leeuw & Jaymie Haycocks in the semifinals. Martino & Leong once again needed to come back from a game down to defeat top seeds Lucas Rousselet & John Russell in the final 13-15, 15-11, 15-13, 15-1.
“It was an incredible experience,” Martino said. “Anyone who knows doubles knows it’s all about picking the right partner. Elroy and I meshed well and it feels great to walk away with this result. It was thrilling to be able to compete in such an exciting environment with so many other passionate doubles players. It’s a great community and is awesome to watch it keep growing. I want to give a huge thanks to everyone who made this event possible; special shout-out to my next partner, Gina Stoker, who was running the show all weekend while also making it to the finals herself.”
“It feels amazing to win,” Leong said. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to partner with Kyle in this tournament and win our first title together. It’s encouraging to see more teams participate in the tournament. Doubles has been a wonderful transition from singles for me and I hope it continues to grow, it was an honor to be a part of this year’s edition!
The three women’s age divisions saw three partnerships extend their title records. Berkeley Belknap & Shirin Kaufman captured their second 40+ title together with a perfect record of 3-0 wins. Kathryn Grant & Lissen Tutrone earned their first 50+ title together since 2016 with a perfect title run. Beth Fredorowich & Sara Luther successfully defended their 60+ title with four, 3-0 wins to top the five-team round robin.
On the men’s side, 2023 45+ champion Mark Price earned a second straight title with first time partner Jeff Osborne in the 40+ division. 2023 50+ champion Chris Walker reunited with his three-time Century Doubles winning partner Tom Harrity to win their first National Doubles title together in the 50+ division. Ed Chilton & Andrew Slater avenged their 2023 55+ final loss against Jeff Stanley & William Ullman to top a closely contested round robin and earn their sixth National Doubles title together.
Top seeded Dominic Hughes successfully defended his 60+ title without dropping a game with first-time partner in Bart Sambrook, adding his eighth National Doubles title. Top seeded Pete Bostwick & Robert Bolling won their third consecutive 65+ title together without dropping a game. Sandy Tierney & Sean Mcdonough won their first National Doubles title together since 2020, fulfilling their top seeding without dropping a game.
R. Clark Amos won back-to-back 75+ titles and first with Dennis Cusack. 2023 80+ champion Barlett McGuire partnered with James Zug, Sr. to defend his title and celebrate their partnership’s first together. McGuire extends his National Doubles title record to eight in all age divisions.
In addition to the Open and age division champions, seven Skill Level national champions were crowned including:
Skill Level Champions:
Men’s A: Sawyer Duncan & John Woodhams
Men’s B: Scott McConnell & Eric Haab
Men’s C: Max Reamer & Matthew Gallagher
Men’s D: Dale Horn & Lee McManus
Women’s A: Tehani Detter & Radhika Cobb
Women’s B: Priscilla Person & Abigail Bagby
Women’s C: Molly Clarke & Lexy Pierce
