Congratulations to our Club Championships Winners!

More than 200 Open Squash members competed in our annual club championships across both our downtown locations this year.

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Matt Davis Jun 10th 2025

A full gallery of images from the finals by Open Squash photographer Eliza Kommer is available here (the code for entry is “05312025”) and with prints available to order for members, if you would like. You can also email Eliza at eliza.kommer@gmail.com to purchase digital photos.

More than 200 Open Squash members competed in our annual club championships across both our downtown locations this year. Our finals party at FiDi on June 2 was a convivial yet competitively fought affair with members vying for coveted medal spots. Sushi and wraps were on hand and tunes were provided by DJ Adriana Arcangel. Director of Squash Operations David Hughes supervised the affair and of course, gave out the medals.

“I’ve gotten much better lately,” said Bryant Park Men’s 4.0 winner Steven Warshaw, 58, pictured below, left, with David Hughes. “I’ve lost about 15 pounds thanks to (head of fitness) Thaisa (Serafini) and I’ve been working with (Bryant Park Squash Director) Peter (Creed). I’m thrilled to win the event after coming in sixth last year.”

Steven’s opponent, Michael Lai, was also “thrilled” with his silver medal in the event. “I wasn’t even expecting to get to the final,” he said, as his girlfriend looked on proudly.

Bryant Park Men’s 4.5 finalists Daraius Sumariwalla (pictured below, right) and Stefan Richter (left) play together on the location’s league team in the New York Squash league. They had a hard-fought match with Sumariwalla ultimately triumphing, despite Richter going up 2-1 in the early stages. Sumariwalla wore his warm-up pants for the entire first game, and Richter, despite paying due credit to his opponent, was thrilled to have accomplished his goal for the match.

“My goal for the match was to get him to take his pants off,” Richter joked. “So, I’m delighted.”

“There were some questionable decisions by the referee in the fifth game,” Sumariwalla said. “But I’m delighted to have emerged the victor after a tough day in the office. Now, where is my cash prize?”

The event is a great way to see how the season’s training and work has paid off. It’s self-scheduled with fellow community members over a couple of months.

FiDi Women’s D Singles Winner Vera Galvez (pictured top, left, with David Hughes) was lost for words after beating Andrea Viscogliosi for the gold medal. Asked for a comment on her performance she asked, simply: “Can I get back to you on that?”

Bryan Seto beat Alejandro Grego in the men’s 4.5 competition at FiDi, narrowly winning the fourth game by 14 to 12 to win the match 3-1.

“It was a tough match. He’s more of a retriever than I expected,” Bryan said, of his opponent. “This is a great competition. As the FiDi location grows we’ve got a thriving community here and more and more people to play against.”

Ken Berlin and Mike McConnell had a tough encounter in the men’s 5.0 consolation final for the Bryant Park location. Berlin ultimately triumphed, despite McConnell winning a tough game at 2-0 down, to demonstrate to his opponent that he might be more of a force to reckon with next year. Berlin pumped the air with his fist, only to realize that the first and second places in his division had already gone to Henry Rosenberg and Zach Bitan.

“What?” he said, looking deflated. “No medal?”

Sorry, Ken. Better luck next year.

In the Bryant Park Open Singles Final, Chris Hart faced Jack Blasberg yet again.

“Jack and I have played in the finals of three tournaments a year for the last four years,” Chris said, after emerging victorious. “Before that, we both played in college, although he went to a better squash school than I did — he went to Brown, and I went to Wesleyan, so we didn’t get to play against each other in school.”

Still, as Chris liked to point out, squash individual results at the highest levels aren’t always linked to where you played in college, or how your team did.

“I have not lost yet,” he said, treasuring his gold medal with due pride.

Congratulations to all our medal winners and participants, and see you all next year!

Bryant Park

Men 4.0 Singles

🥇Steven Warshaw

🥈Michael Lai

Men 4.5 Singles

🥇Daraius A. Sumari...

🥈Stefan Richter

Men 5.0 Singles

🥇Henry Rosenberg

🥈Zach Bitan