Women rely on strong freshman class, depth, to replace former No. 1 Beaver '01

Women's squash has been played at Princeton for 30 years. In that time, no two players have provided a better one-two punch than Julia Beaver '01 and Meredith Quick '01.

"Julia and Meredith at one and two are pretty tough to fill. Combined, they lost only two matches in four years," head coach Gail Ramsay said.

Led by Beaver and Quick, the team amassed a 6-4 regular season record in the 2000-2001 campaign and finished third in the Howe Cup, squash's version of the NCAA Championships. The Tigers defeated both Brown and Penn on their way to capturing third place in the tournament, both strong teams that had beaten them earlier in the season.

Along the way Beaver also picked up her third straight individual national title, cementing her place in Princeton athletic history.

This year, however, much has changed. Beaver and Quick have graduated, and in their places stand many new bodies eager to make an impact.

Freshmen make up the core of the team with four or five in the yet-to-be-determined top nine.

"We're a lot younger than we normally are. Four or five freshmen are in the top nine so they actually outnumber the older players," senior co-captain Courtenay Green said.

Although young and inexperienced, the many freshmen provide the consistency that is necessary to win in any team sport.

"The team is very young but very deep," senior co-captain Anna Minkowski said. "Our number four could play competitively with our number two and one."

This parity serves the Tigers well as each player will be challenged daily in practice. The daily challenge and improvement are essential in preparing the team for the difficult matches they will face this season.

"Basically we're looking for consistent and forward improvement throughout the season," Ramsay said. "Every practice we can get a little bit better."

Princeton got a chance to unofficially see how it matches up against its rivals when it traveled to Ivy Scrimmages at Harvard on Nov. 3 and 4. The Tigers surprised some by coming in second behind only a powerhouse Harvard team in the scrimmages. They crushed Dartmouth, 8-1, in the first match of the weekend before battling Brown to a hard-fought 5-4 victory and ultimately falling to Harvard.

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Freshman Tricia Gadsden, playing at the No. 3 spot, was a standout for Princeton at the scrimmages, winning the decisive fifth match against the Bears to secure the victory for the Tigers.

"In the Brown match it was a draw and our freshman Tricia Gadsden won her fifth game decisively, so that was good for her and her confidence," Ramsay said.

Sophomore Annie Rein-Weston also performed admirably, defeating both Brown and Dartmouth's top players in her first outings at No. 1.

The team is also awaiting the return of cross country runner senior Emily Eynon, who will play somewhere in the top three positions.

Princeton will be led this year by Minkowski and Green, currently ranked third and fifth on the team, respectively.

Aside from the perennial powerhouses of Harvard and Trinity, Yale and Brown will likely be pivotal matches this season.

"Yale and Brown will be close matches this year because they both have lost big players and are starting with a relatively young team," Minkowski said.

Last year brought the graduation of not only Beaver and Quick, but also many other strong players throughout the intercollegiate ranks. With the exceptions of Harvard and Trinity, no team seems poised to run away with the season, and the Tigers feel that they can make an impact within the league.

"The playing field in general is a lot more level across the board this year except for Harvard and Trinity," Green said. "There aren't going to be any easy matches but we feel we've got a great chance against all of these teams."

The Tigers travel to Cornell on Nov. 18 to officially open their season, and will play their first home match against Brown on Dec. 1.