U.S. Open Squash final to be held at Drexel Thursday

The Delaware Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships conclude on Thursday night with the finals taking place at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on the campus of Drexel University. The women's final begins at 6:30 p.m. with the men's final to follow. The total purse for the Championships are $175,000. This is only the second time in the history of the Championships that both the men and women have played at the same site.

Local squash pros John White and Gilly Lane both played in the U.S. Open Qualifying. White, who is the Drexel's men's and women' squash coach, and Lane, a former standout at Penn, both exited the tournament in the qualifying round. Local amateur Todd Harritty,  a three-time U.S. Junior Champion who plays at Princeton and attended Episcopal Academy was also in the tournament.

The 2011 U.S. Open Squash Championships are being played in Philadelphia for the first time since 1993. This is the first of three straight years the tournament will be held at the Daskalakis Athletic Center at Drexel. Tickets are available for Thursday night's finals at USSquash.com. All Philadelphia-area high school students are invited to attend the finals for a student fee of only $10.