Women's Squash: Senior class aims for fourth Howe Cup title in row

The women’s squash team looks to win its fourth consecutive national championship in the Howe Cup this weekend. In its last match, No. 4 Princeton (7-4 overall, 4-2 Ivy League) suffered a tough 5-4 loss to No. 2 Trinity (15-1) at Jadwin Gymnasium. The Tigers need to put that loss behind them as they begin the 2010 Howe Cup as the fourth seed. The tournament starts today in New Haven, Conn., at Yale, and concludes with the final on Sunday afternoon.

“I think we’re at our strongest point in the season,” freshman No. 2 Julie Cerullo said. “We have nothing to lose at this point. We can only hope for the best. I think we’re all looking forward to [the tournament] and [feel] pretty confident.”

Princeton opens the tournament against No. 5 Yale (9-4, 3-3). In late January, Princeton won a close match against the Bulldogs in a 5-4 thriller that saw freshman No. 9 Casey Cortes save three match points. This match will be especially tough considering that Yale is playing on its home courts.

“We definitely had a lot of close matches against Yale at home,” Cerullo said. “I think some of us, if we’re all on top of our games, could win much more decisively.”

“Emery is in our lineup this time, which makes us stronger and deeper,” she added, referring to senior No. 4 and tri-captain Emery Maine, who was injured earlier in the season. “We’re definitely excited for it.”

Should Princeton defeat Yale, the Tigers would likely face No. 1 undefeated Harvard (9-0), which plays No. 8 Williams — a team it previously defeated 9-0 — in the first round. While a Tiger victory will not be easy, Princeton proved in its 6-3 loss to the Crimson on Feb. 7 that it can play with the best team in the country.

Princeton is the only team this year to take three games from Harvard. Junior No. 3 Jackie Moss, Maine and senior No. 6 and tri-captain Kaitlin Sennatt all won their matches against the Crimson. Besides these players, however, only two of Princeton’s remaining six players managed to even take a game from their respective Harvard opponents.

In two of the past three years, the national championship final has pitted Princeton against Harvard, and both matchups resulted in Orange and Black victories. If the Tigers manage an upset, they would play for the national championship for the fourth consecutive year.

“I think right now, we’re definitely very optimistic,” Cerullo said. “We’ve overcome a lot of adversity that’s only made us stronger.”

On the other side of the draw, No. 3 Penn (11-2, 5-1) faces No. 6 Cornell (8-5, 2-4), and No. 7 Stanford (7-5) takes on Trinity. Stanford, Penn and Trinity have all defeated Princeton this season.

Princeton faces a daunting schedule, and despite returning seven starters from last year’s championship team, the Tigers are not the favorite to repeat. Throughout the season, however, the Tigers have played close matches against the best teams in the nation. Princeton will not be discouraged by its losses earlier this season; the Tigers plan to play every game of every match with the mindset that they have the ability to win.

“I think we’ve come together really well,” Cerullo said. “We struggled a little bit in the beginning with some injuries. We have our full lineup this weekend in full force, and we’re excited for some tough matches.”

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Princeton’s lineup boasts three returning All-American and All-Ivy League members: senior No. 1 and tri-captain Amanda Siebert, senior No. 5 Neha Kumar and Maine. These players are joined by a pair of talented freshmen, Cerullo and Cortes. In her last match, Cerullo defeated Trinity’s Nour Bahgat, the defending individual national champion.

Moss, Sennatt, junior No. 7 Nikki Sequeira and sophomore No. 8 Katie Giovinazzo round out the rest of the Princeton squad for the Howe Cup. Princeton’s first-round match against Yale will be at 11:30 a.m. today. The semifinal match is set for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, and the final will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Consolation matches will be held at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

“We’ve really been looking forward to this moment, and we’re just excited to have this chance,” Cerullo said. “We’re so happy to have everyone back in our lineup and are looking forward to some tough matches because we know we can do it.”