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/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
/ Women's Squash
Youthful Talent Ignites Women's Squash Heading Into 2010-11 Season
November 19, 2010 | Women's Squash
When the Princeton women's squash Class of 2010 graduated, it carried three Howe Cup national titles and a pair of Ivy League championships among its impressive list of credentials.
Head coach Gail Ramsay brought in a freshman class that she hopes can fill that sizable void, and she has been more than pleased with its early performances. But she also knows that plenty of talent remained on the roster, including a pair of players with first-team All-America potential.
Senior co-captain Jackie Moss had a brilliant junior season, winning 11 times between the No. 2 and 3 positions, including a 3-0 victory over the top-ranked Harvard Crimson. With 28 career wins and multiple All-America honors, she is the most experienced player on Ramsay's roster. Moss might have been somewhat overshadowed by the class above her, but she is among the most talented players in the country and could be primed for her best year yet.
Sophomore Julie Cerullo spent time playing between the No. 1 and 2 positions last season and won 15 matches. She had Princeton's biggest individual win of the year when she defeated Trinity's Nour Baghat 3-1 in the regular season; prior to that match, Baghat had been undefeated in 1.5 years of college competition. Cerullo was the top-ranked American recruit of her year and earned first-team All-America honors last season; she will be looking to break into the top level of players this season.
Junior Katie Giovinazzo has won 25 matches in the first two years of her career, both as a key member of the varsity lineup. She was undefeated as a freshman and the top No. 9 player in the country, but she proved last year she could move higher and still be successful. She won against No. 2 Trinity during the regular season and is expected to play in the middle of the lineup this season.
Joining Moss as a senior leader on this young team is co-captain Nikki Sequeira, who has been a consistent varsity player since her sophomore season. She has won 22 varsity matches in her career, and she showed incredible poise by rallying from a 0-2 hole in the Howe Cup national final to claim a 3-2 victory at Harvard; that match was a necessary win in a 5-4 championship victory.
A sophomore who will compete for time in the varsity lineup is Casey Cortes, who won 10 matches last season near the bottom of the ladder. Like Sequeira, she showed poise beyond her years in a 5-4 home victory over Yale; she fought off a match ball in a marathon five-game thriller before ultimately pulling off a 3-2 win.
Juniors Daphne Rein-Weston and Eliza Kontulis will join sophomores Alice Fuller and Katherine Schloss in competing for time in the varsity lineup, but that quartet will also see stiff competition from a freshman class that could easily have four representatives in the varsity lineup.
Leading the group is Libby Eyre, the youngest of a set of sisters that has made its mark in collegiate squash. Eyre was ranked as the top American recruit in the summer of 2010. She has been ranked third overall in U-19 and first among her class, and she was ranked as high as second at the U-17 level. She competed at Junior Worlds in 2009 and was a U-17 Junior national champion in 2009. She could find herself in the top half of the lineup from day one of her Princeton career.
Both Lexi Saunders and Alex Sawin should also be significant contributors in the varsity lineup. Saunders has been ranked among the best in her age range throughout her career, including second in U-15, third in U-13 and U-17 and sixth in U-19. Another Junior Worlds qualifier, Saunders has multiple top-five finishes at Junior Nationals.
Sawin finished as the second-ranked American recruit during last summer and was ranked as high as fourth at the U-19 age level. She won the U-19 Junior Championship Tour at Penn and was a multiple-sport letter-winner at the Baldwin School, including five letters in squash; she made the team as an eighth-grader and played No. 1 by her freshman season.
Caroline Feeley is no stranger to success; she helped lead Greenwich Academy to national championships in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and she won the New England Championships in each of her four years. She may not have the same experience as the rest of her classmates, but she is a highly skilled player who could gain immediate experience around the bottom of the varsity ladder.
Princeton fans will have plenty of opportunities to watch the women's squash team at Jadwin, including six times in February. The season opens with three home matches this weekend, including the season opener Friday night against Columbia. If you think a season opener might be pressure-packed, consider what the Lions are facing; this will be a program opener, as Columbia has just added squash as a varsity sport.
Princeton will also host Franklin & Marshall Saturday (4 p.m.) and Cornell Sunday (2 p.m.) during the season-opening weekend. After a home match with Penn Jan. 26, the Tigers will get comfortable at Jadwin during February. They will host regular season matches with Stanford (Feb. 4), Dartmouth (Feb. 5) and Harvard (Feb. 6) during one weekend, and will come back two weeks later to host the Howe Cup national championships.
The last time Princeton hosted the team national championships was 2008, when the Tigers rallied past top-seeded Penn to win its second of three straight national titles.
Key road matches for Princeton include a Jan. 29 date at Yale and a Feb. 13 match at Trinity.
Head coach Gail Ramsay brought in a freshman class that she hopes can fill that sizable void, and she has been more than pleased with its early performances. But she also knows that plenty of talent remained on the roster, including a pair of players with first-team All-America potential.
Senior co-captain Jackie Moss had a brilliant junior season, winning 11 times between the No. 2 and 3 positions, including a 3-0 victory over the top-ranked Harvard Crimson. With 28 career wins and multiple All-America honors, she is the most experienced player on Ramsay's roster. Moss might have been somewhat overshadowed by the class above her, but she is among the most talented players in the country and could be primed for her best year yet.
Sophomore Julie Cerullo spent time playing between the No. 1 and 2 positions last season and won 15 matches. She had Princeton's biggest individual win of the year when she defeated Trinity's Nour Baghat 3-1 in the regular season; prior to that match, Baghat had been undefeated in 1.5 years of college competition. Cerullo was the top-ranked American recruit of her year and earned first-team All-America honors last season; she will be looking to break into the top level of players this season.
Junior Katie Giovinazzo has won 25 matches in the first two years of her career, both as a key member of the varsity lineup. She was undefeated as a freshman and the top No. 9 player in the country, but she proved last year she could move higher and still be successful. She won against No. 2 Trinity during the regular season and is expected to play in the middle of the lineup this season.
Joining Moss as a senior leader on this young team is co-captain Nikki Sequeira, who has been a consistent varsity player since her sophomore season. She has won 22 varsity matches in her career, and she showed incredible poise by rallying from a 0-2 hole in the Howe Cup national final to claim a 3-2 victory at Harvard; that match was a necessary win in a 5-4 championship victory.
A sophomore who will compete for time in the varsity lineup is Casey Cortes, who won 10 matches last season near the bottom of the ladder. Like Sequeira, she showed poise beyond her years in a 5-4 home victory over Yale; she fought off a match ball in a marathon five-game thriller before ultimately pulling off a 3-2 win.
Juniors Daphne Rein-Weston and Eliza Kontulis will join sophomores Alice Fuller and Katherine Schloss in competing for time in the varsity lineup, but that quartet will also see stiff competition from a freshman class that could easily have four representatives in the varsity lineup.
Leading the group is Libby Eyre, the youngest of a set of sisters that has made its mark in collegiate squash. Eyre was ranked as the top American recruit in the summer of 2010. She has been ranked third overall in U-19 and first among her class, and she was ranked as high as second at the U-17 level. She competed at Junior Worlds in 2009 and was a U-17 Junior national champion in 2009. She could find herself in the top half of the lineup from day one of her Princeton career.
Both Lexi Saunders and Alex Sawin should also be significant contributors in the varsity lineup. Saunders has been ranked among the best in her age range throughout her career, including second in U-15, third in U-13 and U-17 and sixth in U-19. Another Junior Worlds qualifier, Saunders has multiple top-five finishes at Junior Nationals.
Sawin finished as the second-ranked American recruit during last summer and was ranked as high as fourth at the U-19 age level. She won the U-19 Junior Championship Tour at Penn and was a multiple-sport letter-winner at the Baldwin School, including five letters in squash; she made the team as an eighth-grader and played No. 1 by her freshman season.
Caroline Feeley is no stranger to success; she helped lead Greenwich Academy to national championships in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and she won the New England Championships in each of her four years. She may not have the same experience as the rest of her classmates, but she is a highly skilled player who could gain immediate experience around the bottom of the varsity ladder.
Princeton fans will have plenty of opportunities to watch the women's squash team at Jadwin, including six times in February. The season opens with three home matches this weekend, including the season opener Friday night against Columbia. If you think a season opener might be pressure-packed, consider what the Lions are facing; this will be a program opener, as Columbia has just added squash as a varsity sport.
Princeton will also host Franklin & Marshall Saturday (4 p.m.) and Cornell Sunday (2 p.m.) during the season-opening weekend. After a home match with Penn Jan. 26, the Tigers will get comfortable at Jadwin during February. They will host regular season matches with Stanford (Feb. 4), Dartmouth (Feb. 5) and Harvard (Feb. 6) during one weekend, and will come back two weeks later to host the Howe Cup national championships.
The last time Princeton hosted the team national championships was 2008, when the Tigers rallied past top-seeded Penn to win its second of three straight national titles.
Key road matches for Princeton include a Jan. 29 date at Yale and a Feb. 13 match at Trinity.
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