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2008-09 Season Preview: Women's Squash
November 21, 2008 | Women's Squash
The 2008-09 Princeton women's squash season will open with three home matches this weekend, including a showdown with Stanford Saturday at 1 p.m. The Tigers will open the Ivy League season Sunday against Cornell at noon. The following is a season preview for the two-time defending national champion Princeton women's squash team.
It's going to be tough to match the magic of the last two Princeton women's squash seasons, but the 2008-09 team is more than ready to try. After all, there are some players looking to pick up a third title, while others are ready to make a run at their first.
Head coach Gail Ramsay has done a terrific job of reloading, not rebuilding. In 2007, Princeton sent four seniors into the Howe Cup and never seemed threatened to come away as anything but champion.
Last season was a different story, as the Tigers came in as underdogs. Of course, they came out on top of the mountain one more time, and the leaders of that team are prepared for another climb.
The junior duo of Amanda Siebert and Neha Kumar will head that climb this season. The two have been near the top of the Princeton lineup for both national championships, and they will likely be there once again this year. In 2007, Kumar played No. 2 and Siebert played 3. Last season, Siebert moved to 1 and Kumar played 2. It doesn't seem to matter much who ends up at the top of the lineup, since both are experienced and game competitors.
Siebert won the 2008 Constable Invitational, a mid-season tournament that brought together the best players from Princeton and Trinity. She went on to earn All-Ivy and All-America honors and was a top seed in the national individual tournament, although food poisoning proved to be too tough an opponent. Siebert is a fluid mover on the court who can drive the ball with anybody. She picked up a win last season over the 2006 national champion Lily Lorentzen and will look to make her own run at the title after, hopefully, winning a third straight team title.
Kumar is the one who has had the most success in the national individual tournament, and if she can stay healthy all season, could be a top contender this year. She missed much of last season, but made it back for a key 3-0 win over Penn in the Howe Cup final. Kumar, the 2007 Constable Invitational champion, is a controlled player who can put the ball anywhere on the court she wants.
The third and fourth spots could go to sophomore Jackie Moss and junior Emery Maine, both of whom were new faces on the championship run last season. Moss showed her mettle in the Howe Cup semifinal when she rallied from a 2-1 deficit in games and an 8-5 deficit in the fifth game. With a year of collegiate experience under her belt, she should be better able to handle the rigors of a full season.
Maine was a newcomer because she was a member of the women's lacrosse team as a freshman. A terrific junior player, Maine walked on to the team before last season and didn't waste time making an impact. She played primarily in the No. 4 position and proved capable of handling the marathon matches. While a few went against her early, she picked up the biggest win of the year in the deciding match of the Howe Cup. After splitting the first two games against Penn, Maine won 18 of the final 19 points to take the match and win the title.
Junior Kaitlin Sennatt played No. 5 most of last season and has become one of the steady presences in the Princeton lineup. She has played the role of Aly Pearson and Carly Grabowski in past years; put her anywhere in the lineup and trust she'll get the win. Sennatt is consistent and determined and has only one loss in dual matches during her career.
Senior tri-captain Maggie O'Toole had a big year as one of the newcomers following the Class of 2007 departure. She improved her game remarkably and was a consistent winner at the No. 8 spot, including an absolutely dominant Howe Cup weekend. She never dropped a game during that postseason run and is hoping for a strong finish to her career as she goes for a third title.
Three freshmen could jump into the lineup, especially after the graduations of Grabowski, Casey Riley and Margaret Kent. One name that will be quite familiar to Princeton fans is Daphne Rein-Weston, the youngest sister of Princeton squash alumni Annie '04 and Claire '07. Both played No. 1 for significant periods at Princeton, and Claire was a recipient of the 2007 Von Kienbusch Award, given to the top female student-athlete at Princeton. Daphne doesn't come to Princeton with the same international experience of her sisters, but she has all the potential to become another standout player.
The third-ranked recruit in the country, Katie Giovinazzo is coming off a fifth-place finish at 2008 U.S. national championships. She has always been ranked among the Top 12 at her age level. She is a Poly Prop graduate who played for the Heights Casino club. Giovinazzo could be an immediate contributor near the middle of the lineup.
Clare Kuensell, a graduate of the Philadelphia-area Shipley School, finished in the Top 8 at 2008 U.S. National Championships. The fourth-ranked collegiate recruit this year, she has been a top-10 ranked player at her age level throughout the early part of her career, and she is playing her best right now.
Fellow captains Aly Brady and Joanna Scoon could also impact the bottom of the varsity lineup; both have gained varsity experience throughout their career. Sophomores Julia Wiegel and Nikki Sequeira could be among the younger players also ready to move into the lineup if necessary.