Princeton University Athletics
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With Top-Rated Duo At Top, Women's Squash Looks To Challenge CSA Best Again
November 20, 2015 | Women's Squash
The Princeton Tigers reminded everybody just how close the top of the women's squash field was last year. They came in to the Howe Cup as the fourth-ranked team in the country; they left with two victories over Top-5 teams and nearly stunned eventual champion Harvard in a 5-4 loss.
They will enter this coming season the same way they entered that weekend — considered a top-five program, but not likely to be fighting for the championship on that final Sunday.
That's fine with this Princeton team. With arguably the nation's best 1-2 punch and a deep lineup, these Tigers won't mind being overlooked at any point. In fact, they welcome it.
Princeton, which opens its season Sunday at George Washington, returns three All-America honorees from last season, including reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year and CSA semifinalist Olivia Fiechter. The fourth-ranked player in the nation last season, Fiechter won 11 matches last season, most of which came by 3-0 scores. A two-time U.S. Junior Open champion, Fiechter has every shot possible and will now build off a year of collegiate experience.
Fiechter was pushed to the limit in her CSA quarterfinal by teammate and 2014 Ivy Rookie of the Year Maria Elena Ubina, who won 17 matches last season and didn't lose a single team match during the season at the No. 2 position. A fierce competitor, Ubina showed her toughness in the team semifinal at Harvard; she trailed 2-1, but won the fourth and held off an All-American for an 11-9 win in the finale.
Fiechter was the top recruit in her class, but head coach Gail Ramsay is thrilled to know that classmate Lindsey Scott will be back in the lineup after missing most of last season with an injury. She went 3-0 at the No. 5 spot last year before her injury, but she has looked good in the preseason and should be in the mix for a top-four spot in the lineup. There could be some early struggles in shaking off the rust, but Scott could be a very dangerous opponent once the Ivy League season rolls around.
Senior Rachel Leizman will also be in the mix around the top four, and she has already proven an ability to handle the pressure there. As a freshman, she held off a match ball and ultimately beat Harvard 3-2 at the No. 4 spot during a 5-4 Princeton win that paved the way to an Ivy League title. She showed that ability late last season, especially in a thrilling run at the individual championships that clinched her All-America honors. The senior combines both variety and experience in her game, and Ramsay would welcome any opportunity to put her on the court in a clinching opportunity.
The ultimate success of this Princeton team could depend greatly on the performances at the next three spots. Especially with the power at the top of the lineup, winning two of three between 5-7 would give Princeton a major advantage over most teams, and three players who look ready to take those spots right now are Kira Keating, Alexandra Toth and Tara Harrington.
Keating may have been the surprise story of last season. She broke into the lineup late in the fall, moved as high as No. 7 and won 75 percent of her team matches. When the pressure went up at the Howe Cup, she won two of three, including a five-game match against Yale in the quarters. Now Keating has both confidence and experience to start a season, and Ramsay believes she'll be a steady presence in the middle of the lineup.
Toth is a junior who has won 24 matches in her first two years, and she is also building on a very strong preseason. Toth was one of two Princeton players to win Howe Cup matches against both Harvard and Penn (Ubina was the other), and she lost only one individual game during her 10 regular season wins.
Harrington, like Leizman, had a huge victory over Harvard during the 2013 match that ultimately won the Ivy League title for Princeton, and she enters her senior season close to the 40-win mark for her career. Harrington will bring a steady presence to a lineup that graduated three seniors last season and will rely on plenty of youth.
The bottom two spots in the lineup are a wild card for Ramsay, because they will be filled by talented, yet mostly inexperienced, players. Junior Gabriella Garr won three Ivy matches last season, so she got a taste of varsity play, while senior Isabella Bersani has worked hard to earn herself a spot on the ladder during her senior season.
The Class of 2019 brought high-energy, hard-working players to the lineup, and several will contend for spots in the bottom third. An early player to watch is Isabel Hirshberg, a former No. 2 player at her age from the William Penn Charter School. There is a variety to her game that is unexpected for such a young player, and it should develop even more as she gains experience at the collegiate level.
Kate Feeley, younger sister of former Tiger Caroline Feeley, is a hard hitter who brings a highly competitive spirit to the court. Samantha Chai is a similar type of competitor, and when she adds a bit more power to her game, she could be a similar type of late-season lineup addition that Keating provided last season.
Libbie Maine, Ashley Richards, Natalie Tung and Camille Price are all developing their games and trying to work into the lineup, especially when the Ivy League season comes around.
Princeton knows that the Ivy League will be as challenging as ever. The Tigers lost to both Penn and Yale at the Ivy scrimmages, while Harvard returns as the national champion. Programs like Cornell, Columbia, and Dartmouth are knocking on the door of the national top five as well.
“The Ivy scrimmages showed us where we are right now,” head coach Gail Ramsay said. “We have potential if we keep working, keep improving. We never felt outclassed in any of the matches. If we can stay healthy and keep working, I think we'll be a threat to anybody out there.
But Princeton is up for the battle. The Tigers have two potential CSA individual champions on their side, and enough depth to challenge any team for five victories anywhere in the lineup.
They've been overlooked before, and they nearly turned the sport on its side in the biggest weekend of all.
And they'll be ready to do it again.