Worldly Yu siblings impress

When you're in a foreign country and far from home, it's always nice to have a familiar face smiling back at you amid the hustle and bustle. That familiar face is exactly what varsity squash players and siblings senior Vincent and freshman Vanessa Yu have at Princeton when they look at each other.

The Yus were born and raised in Hong Kong. They were first introduced to the game of squash by their father, who played recreationally with his friends on courts near the family's home. While Vincent decided to pick up a racquet and start hitting with his dad when he was 9, Vanessa watched and waited a few years before taking up the game when she also turned 9.

Both siblings fell in love with the sport independently of each other, and each started training competitively upon reaching the age of 11.

Vincent went from practicing once a week with his father to a more rigorous schedule when he joined the Hong Kong Squash Association's Junior Squad. Soon afterward, Vincent began to compete nationally and trained his way into a top-10 ranking by the age of 13. At 14, Vincent won his first national championship in Japan. Since he had been training and competing at such a high level from such a young age, Vincent was even able to represent Hong Kong twice in the Junior World Championships before beginning college.

While Vincent was leading the way with award-winning performances on the squash court, Vanessa wasn't far behind him. She, too, joined the Hong Kong Regional Squad and competed nationally, garnering enough recognition to be ranked in the top-20 in the country for her age bracket and winning the Hong Kong Junior Squash Championship at the age of 14.

Even though both siblings trained for the highest competition their country could offer, they still found time to enjoy their sport in a more recreational way.

"Sometimes we would just get out and hit with each other," Vanessa said. "But it was never competitive — it was always just for fun."

When the time came, both Vincent and Vanessa decided to leave home to spend four years in the United States attending Princeton. As the older sibling, Vincent was the first to strike out on his own, enrolling at Princeton in the fall of 2003.

"I always wanted to come to the States for college," Vincent said. "And Princeton is one of the best, so of course I wanted to come here."

While squash was a major part of his life, Yu decided not to base his college decision on athletics. He felt that academics were the top priority, and playing squash would be a pleasant bonus.

His decision to play squash was also a pleasant bonus for the school, as Vincent proved to be a very valuable addition to the team. Yu was part of a squad that almost beat Trinity College for the NCAA National Championship last year, coming within one point of ending Trinity's NCAA-record-breaking, seven-year winning streak.

Having seen such Tiger success first hand, squash became a much more important factor in Vanessa's coming to Princeton than it was for her brother.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"I visited once when my brother first came here and got a feel for the campus," Vanessa said. "And then the squash team was getting stronger and stronger each year, and that definitely influenced me to come here."

Now that both siblings are on campus and sharing similar experiences, they've come to really appreciate having each other.

"It's so great to be around my sister," Vincent said. "I've never been in the same school with her at the same time before, so this is definitely a good experience."

Vanessa also appreciates the fact that she can look to her brother to ease the typical freshman fears.

"It feels nice to be at the same school as my brother," Vanessa said. "He's gone through the same things here that I'm going through now, so I can ask him for advice. It's nice to know I have someone to go to when I have problems."

While the thought of having to share the same university and same sport might cause some siblings to shudder, the close quarters are refreshing for Vincent and Vanessa. They are thankful to have each other and for the shared experiences that will always unite them — even after squash is no longer a part of their lives.