World No. 4 Olivia Weaver came back from 2-1 down against six-time champion Amanda Sobhy to win her third consecutive Desai Family U.S. Womens’ Championship title, while unseeded Dillon Huang upset two seed and world No. 82 Nick Spizzirri to win his first career S.L. Green U.S. Men’s Championship title Saturday, May 2, at the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia.
The women’s final saw a rematch between the top two-ranked American women in world No. 4 Weaver and world No. 12 Amanda Sobhy. Weaver progressed to the final without dropping a game, while Sobhy fought through a five-game semifinal against world No. 16 Marina Stefanoni for a second year in a row.
Sobhy, a six-time champion, met Weaver’s pace and skill in the final and sped to a 2-1 lead. In the third game, Weaver took a contributed injury break after her head collided with Sobhy’s shoulder. Weaver, resiliently responded however, turning the match on its head to win a third consecutive title 11-3, 10-12, 9-11, 11-1, 11-3.
“It’s amazing to win three in a row,” Weaver said. “If you had told me me when I went pro I would have won three of these things, let alone one, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’m really proud. Sharing the court with a champion like Amanda today and to be a part of this era of American women, it’s a huge honor. I’m just really happy with how I battled through the match today, Amanda made it really tough. I’m really proud of how I picked myself up from 2-1 down and found a way. I was trying to collect myself and find composure and focus on my game plan. The support in the crowd when a long way. My brother, sister in law and nieces were all here, and Bobby and Bridget. I really felt like I had so much support today.”
Weaver becomes the first American woman to win three consecutive national titles since Natalie Grainger from 2007-2011. For the second time in modern history, Team USA currently has four women ranked in the world’s top twenty. World No. 18 and 2014 champion Sabrina Sobhy unfortunately did not compete after rupturing her Achilles two weeks ago in the Bermuda Open final.
“It’s incredible, when I was growing up it was Amanda and Olivia paving the way, they were really making an impact on the international stage before anyone else was,” Weaver said. “Just to see how many Americans are playing at a high level at the junior, college and pro level, it’s incredible. It feels like USA is dominating in a way we haven’t before. I’m exciting to be a part of it. It’s amazing to have Mollie here now, we crossed paths at Princeton and she’s an incredible leader. We have such an amazing home base here at the Specter Center and leadership at US Squash ahead of the Olympics. It’s such an exciting time for us all.”
The men’s draw saw an early shake up in the quarterfinals when two-time defending champion and world No. 30 Timmy Brownell exited the tournament at the hand of recently-retired Spencer Lovejoy. Huang ultimately stepped into that void, defeating four seed Salim Khan in a 3-0 quarterfinal and Lovejoy in the semifinals to reach his first U.S. Championships final.
Huang met in-form two seed Nick Spizzirri in an all-Penn final, after the world No. 82 progressed through the bottom half of the draw, including a semifinal win over world No. 66 Shahjahan Khan. In the final, it was Huang who controlled the pace of the match from the start, clinching the title 11-8, 11-7, 11-5.
“You always have to believe, but I always knew the road was going to be hard,” Huang said. “I just kept my head down and took it one match at a time. Nationals has been the one title that has escaped me my entire career. In juniors, I had match balls and let it slip, same thing in college. So I’m just so happy that I’m able to get it done here and on this stage.”
In addition to being former Penn teammates, Huang and Spizzirri represented Team USA together at the 2024 World Team Championships in Hong Kong. A native of Freemont, CA, Huang makes U.S. squash history by becoming the first Californian to win the U.S. Men’s Championship.
“We’re good friends and we’ve built up this long camaraderie with each other since we were young and now that we’re U.S. teammates,” Huang said. “He’s a great competitor. He’s always someone you have to watch out for. Last night I was going over my game plan again and again. It was energy, attacking and defending. I knew that he would get on these hot streaks occasionally, and just to weather that storm and play a defensive game until I could get back in front of him.”
2026 marked the twenty-seventh year of title sponsor support for the S.L. Green U.S. Men’s Championship and second year of title sponsor support for the Desai Family U.S. Women’s Championship.
