Youth Influx, Strong Depth Power Women's Squash Into 2017-18 Season; Tigers Face Tough Early Test

The Princeton women's squash brought in a young influx of talent over the last year, and head coach Gail Ramsay would love nothing more than to see what that group can do while teaming up with a healthy Olivia Fiechter this season.

If that happens, Ramsay thinks her team has a good chance to line up on the final Sunday of the year and compete for the Howe Cup title. Princeton will face a good test during its opening weekend, which will feature three matches away from home. The middle one will be a showdown of top-five teams, as fourth-ranked Princeton will take on fifth-ranked Stanford Sunday at 11 am at George Washington; the Tigers will face the host Colonials later on Sunday.

Beyond wins, though, Ramsay just wants to see Fiechter get a chance to play her last season of squash healthy. The senior co-captain opened her career with three straight first-team All-America seasons, but she began to deal with injuries during her sophomore season. Fiechter's junior season was almost completely lost, but she battled hard to get back on the court to help Princeton knock off Yale in a Howe Cup match, and she even earned a win in the Ramsay Cup main draw, which clinched first-team All-America honors.

When healthy, there are few players as fun to watch as Fiechter, who has every shot in her arsenal and a terrific mind for the sport. The former Ivy League Rookie of the Year is among the best players to play at Princeton since Julia Beaver's three national titles, and if she can get healthy, she could be a dominant No. 1 player.

While the top spot may be set, Ramsay should see good competition for the next 4-5 spots in the lineup, which could signify a very strong middle of the lineup. Junior Samantha Chai played No. 2 during the Ivy League scrimmages, where Princeton upset Penn to make the final, and she brings 22 career wins into the 2017-18 season. Chai was at her best in the big matches; she went 5-2 in Ivy play and had a key five-game win at the No. 4 spot in the Howe Cup quarterfinal win over Yale.

Sophomore Morgan Steelman led the team in both overall wins (14) and Ivy League wins (six) last season, and Ramsay believes she has made a significant jump from that experience, and the hard work from the offseason. Steelman could figure anywhere in that 2-6 range, and she'll be a tough out in any of those spots.

This portion of the lineup is difficult to figure at this point because three freshmen are going to be big factors in the area. Raneem El Torky, Gracie Doyle, and Emme Leonard bring impressive international credentials to the Jadwin Courts, where they will look to bring four years of highlights.

Doyle, the younger sister of men's junior Clark Doyle, earned a No. 1 ranking at the U-19, U-17, and U-13 age groups, and she is a two-time member of the U.S. World Junior Team. She plays with balance and control, and she can play a good array of shots with both placement and consistency. She brings more experience to the court than the standard college freshman.

El Torky is a three-time first-team All-America honoree, as selected by the U.S. Squash Association. She was a finalist at the U.S. Junior Open (U-15), and she placed third at the U.S. Junior Squash Open (U-17). She is an aggressive, attacking player who can be difficult to deal with when she is on her game. Ramsay is looking for her to build a better defensive game, which could make her one of the most complete players in the league.

Leonard has reached as high as No. 3 at the U-19 level, and she has been in the top three at both U-15 and U-13 as well. Leonard, who joined Doyle at the World Junior Championships this year, is a strong, physical player who has already shown impressive improvement during the preseason.

A trademark of Ramsay's best teams over the last two decades has been power at the bottom of the lineup, and this team could fit that billing. The bottom three spots will likely feature players like junior Isabel Hirshberg, senior co-captain Kira Keating, sophomore Madison Soukup, and junior Kate Feeley.

Hirshberg won 11 matches last season and played as high as the No. 1 spot, though she settled into a comfort zone around the middle of the ladder. She is 25-9 during her career and has won nine of her 11 Ivy League matches through the first two years.

Keating leads all Princeton players with 32 career victories, including 12 last season. She has had big wins every year of her career, including postseason wins over both Harvard and Yale. She has also teamed with Fiechter to provide great leadership as co-captains to a young roster.

Feeley matched Steelman with a team-best 14 victories last season, and she showed incredible poise during Howe Cup weekend, which was held at Jadwin. She was a perfect 3-0 against three of the top five teams in the nation, including a 3-1 win over eventual champion Harvard and a 3-2 victory over Trinity in the third-place match.
Soukup made the most of her opportunities last season, winning nine of 10 matches, including Princeton's lone victory over Penn during the regular season.

Ramsay is also excited to see how senior Natalie Tung, junior Camille Price, and freshman Mia Rosini develop during the season. Price showed her teammates plenty with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Harvard at the Ivy scrimmages, which included a 19-17 win in the first game. Tung is a senior walk-on who has showed the same dedication on the court that she has shown in her award-winning HomeWorks project, while Rosini is a freshman walk-on who brings both work ethic and good court awareness to her matches.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results