Women's squash looks to regain team title

Preseason rankings mean nothing. The women's squash team has decided that it is going to pay attention to one thing: results.

Last weekend, when the Tigers traveled to Cornell to play in the preseason Ivy League Scrimmage, they were more encouraged by the games than where they were placed on any list.

"I think we realized from this weekend how well we can do this year," senior captain Julia Beaver said. "The matches showed that a national championship is definitely within our reach."

Princeton's goal this season is to reclaim the national championship and Ivy League championship, both of which barely eluded it last year. The Tigers had been national champs the two previous years, but narrowly lost in the finals last season to rival Penn, 5-4.

And not a whole lot has changed from last season.

"Harvard and Penn are the teams to beat," Beaver said.

Preseason rankings put Harvard at No. 1, Penn at No. 2 and Princeton at No. 3. The Tigers lost two key seniors to graduation, Blair Irwin '00 and Liz Kelly '00. The two occupied the Tigers' No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the nine-player rotation. Those two spots have been conveniently filled by the addition of two freshmen to the Tigers' roster.

'Big shoes'

Freshman Akanksha Hazari is playing at No. 3 and freshman Annie Rein-Weston has stepped in at No. 4. But head coach Gail Ramsay is being realistic when she says that these two cannot replace the two graduates immediately and the experience that they brought to the team.

"They have some pretty big shoes to fill," Ramsay said. "And they won't have the same size shoe as my four-year seniors."

The rookies were able to get their feet wet at Cornell this weekend at the Ivy Scrimmage.

"I thought they both put in good performances," Beaver said. "I think maybe they were a little nervous in coming out and playing their first intercollegiate match. I think once they get the butterflies out of their stomachs, they'll be playing very solidly in our lineup."

The Tigers will once again have the best player in the league at their top spot. Beaver, who has won the national individual title for the last two seasons, will occupy the No. 1 seed for Princeton for her final year. Beaver has gone undefeated for the Tigers for the last two years.

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"There aren't many like her," Ramsay said.

The Tigers' No. 2 is senior co-captain Meredith Quick, who also can be counted on for a win and rarely drops a match.

Princeton is at the moment hurting a bit in the rest of the lineup, and there are certain gaps that will not be filled until after December.

Junior Emily Eynon, who normally plays at No. 5 for the Tigers, is finishing up her cross country season. Junior Anna Minkowski is out until January as she recovers from a broken ankle bone.

Taking this into account, the Tigers were pleased with the results of the matches played at Cornell. Princeton defeated its hosts, 6-3, and lost to the Crimson by the same score. Harvard then went on to smash Penn, 8-1.

"I think although we lost to Harvard, we're missing two of our players," Beaver said. "Harvard isn't missing anyone right now from their future lineup."

Penn, like Princeton, also saw its share of seniors depart. The Quakers lost their No. 1 player, and the bottom half of their lineup also has some holes now.

"They'll be a different team," Ramsay said.

The Tigers had a unique opportunity to train over Fall Break, when they traveled to London to play five matches and work on some conditioning.

"The England national coach and Gail worked with us together," Beaver said, "and I really think that helped to improve everyone's game a whole lot and gave us a lot to think about."

Princeton will have its first league game of the season this Sunday at home in Jadwin Gym against visiting Cornell at noon.