Cornell no match for Tigers in opener

In its opening match of the season this weekend, the women's squash team swept Cornell, 9-0. Each of the nine players in the Princeton lineup won her match handily, and seven of the nine Tigers swept their opponents, 3-0 — including the No.1 ranked junior Claire Rein-Weston.

The toughest matches this weekend for Princeton (1-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) were at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, where junior Marilla Hiltz and sophomore Lena Neufeld fought hard to stay on top of the Big Red. Both Tigers lost the first game of the match to their Cornell counterparts before taking control and winning the matches with scores of 3-1 and 3-2, respectively.

Beyond the No. 3 seed, Princeton did not give up a single game to the Big Red. The players in the middle of the lineup, including junior Anina Nolan and sophomores Casey Riley, Margaret Kent and Carly Grabowski, had particularly dominant performances, highlighting the remarkable depth and maturity of the team.

Freshmen Maggie O'Toole and Ali Brady, who played at eighth and ninth, respectively, had great showings in their first intercollegiate matches. Both quickly overcame some initial nervousness to take control and finish their matches without losing a single game, 3-0.

Though this weekend was certainly a good showing, the Tigers know that future victories against more challenging teams will not come easily.

"It was a good starting match, I think, to open our eyes to what we need to work on," Rein-Weston said. "We need to play better than that if we want to beat Yale and Harvard, and I'm confident that we can step it up and rise to the challenge."

The team hopes to use this victory as motivation to stay focused on improving and honing their skills.

"We will have to work even harder in the coming weeks to prepare for our toughest competition later this season," Nolan said. "We will need to keep up our fitness over the next few months and remain healthy and injury-free so we can play our best against our toughest competition early next year."

The matches against the Bulldogs and the Crimson, which are always the most difficult for Princeton, do not come until next February. In the meantime, the team is determined to work on solidifying its skills. To continue this weekend's success as the season progresses, the team will need to play smarter, more consistent squash.

"The score does not necessarily reflect the quality of our play," Rein-Weston said. "We need to work toward our goals now and be sharper in our matches because from now on, it will get harder and start to count."

The team's experience and maturity — both physical and mental — will certainly help it in that regard. This weekend's lineup consisted of three juniors and four sophomores, and more upperclassmen are vying for spots in the top nine.

Overall, the Tigers are still confident that this can be a great season.