No. 10: Wendy Zaharko '74

Countless athletes past and present have been considered dominant in their time. But rarely are the athletes so superior to contemporaries that they reach the point of competitive perfection. They enter a class of elite athletes who falter so rarely that it can only be described as shocking: tennis has Roger Federer, golf Tiger Woods, swimming Michael Phelps. In women's squash, Wendy Zaharko '74 was that athlete.

From the moment she picked up a racket to her final bow in the Orange and Black, Zaharko proved she was a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to her powerful and astoundingly accurate shot, Zaharko led Princeton to two Howe Cups — collegiate squash's national championship — while winning the individual national championship in three of her four years at Princeton.

During her time at Old Nassau, not only did Zaharko have a perfect record, she also finished her collegiate career without dropping a single game. The only match she came close to losing was the individual national championship her senior year against teammate and Princeton No. 2 Cindy Sutter '77. Down 13-7, it seemed Sutter might take the title that year.

"Suddenly I realized, oh my gosh, this might be the first game I ever lose in college. I became intensely competitive and fought," Zaharko told squashtalk.com years later. Zaharko battled back, won the match and walked out Fitz-Randolph Gate with an unblemished record.

Thirty-odd years later, Zaharko's name is still mentioned in the debate for the most dominate female squash player in collegiate history, a testament to her all-around strength. She was inducted into the Collegiate Squash Association's Hall of Fame in 1994, the same year as her coach Betty Constable.

A founding member of Princeton's women's squash team, she served as captain during its inaugural 1971-72 season. Zaharko, a sophomore at the time, played at No. 1 for the team, which only consisted of one other veteran player and a group of girls that Constable handpicked from her squash physical-education class, none of whom were upperclassmen.

Under Zaharko's leadership, the team nearly won a national championship that first year, and she blew by her competition to earn the first of her three individual titles.

Zaharko was so talented that it was often hard to find adequate female competition, so she often practiced with the stars of the men's team. Zaharko even earned the honor of playing at the No. 5 slot for the men's team during its annual match against alumni.

Though Zaharko was by far the team's strongest player, her relationship with Constable was rocky at best. In 1973, Zaharko was thrown off the team for the semester because she accepted an invitation to play in the U.S. Squash Racquets Association Nationals which was the same weekend as the team's match against Vassar.

Her ejection from the team is probably the sole reason Zaharko did not win the individual title all four years — a feat only achieved by one male and one female athlete in collegiate squash history.

When she returned the next year, Constable was less than excited to let Zaharko back on the team.

"[Zaharko] would have to work her way back into the lineup, just like anybody else," Constable told The Daily Princetonian shortly after Zaharko's return. That year, the team won the Howe Cup without her assistance. The following week, however, she challenged and smashed her top three teammates regaining her No. 1 spot. And the week after that, she won the individual nationals again. The following year, the Tigers went undefeated, winning every match by at least an 8-1 margin and taking the Howe Cup for the third consecutive year.

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Within four years of its founding, Princeton squash became known as "the squash factory" because they "squash[ed]" every opponent, according to a 'Prince' article.

If it were not for Zaharko, it is possible that the still dominating women's squash team would not be the success it is today, a storied program that has won more Howe Cups than any other collegiate team.