Top-Seeded Youssef Ibrahim Leads Five Tigers To World Junior Squash Championships

Four incoming Princeton freshmen — two men and two women — will join rising sophomore Adhitya Raghavan in Tauranga, New Zealand, later this month to compete in the 2017 WSF World Junior Squash Championships. The Tiger men will have two of the highest eight seeds in the draw, including the No. 1 seed overall, while the women will have a pair of players who will compete in both the individual and team competition.

You can find all of the information on the tournament, which goes from July 19-29, on the official event web site.

MEN
Youssef Ibrahim has the strongest resumé of any incoming Tiger since Yasser El-Halaby '06, and he will attempt to add to it this month as he enters the World Juniors as the top overall seed. The former British Junior Open champion has won the Egyptian national championship at four different age levels, and he has also won a pair of U.S. Open titles. After placing third at the 2016 World Junior Championships, he'll look to ascend two more spots on the podium this month.

One of the players who will try to upset him is returning All-America and All-Ivy standout Raghavan, who led Princeton as its No. 1 player last season. Raghavan turned some heads in January when he reached the semifinals of the British Junior Open, and he will enter the World Juniors as a 5-8 seed (he was a 9-16 seed at the British Junior).

Another incoming Tiger who will compete in New Zealand this month will be Cole Becker, the No. 2 player in the U.S. at the U-19 level. Becker will bring plenty of international experience to the event; he played at the British Junior Open three times, and he reached the semifinals at the Pan-American Games (2016).

For more on the Princeton men's incoming Class of 2021, click here.

WOMEN
After graduating three of its top four players last year, Princeton knew it would need a strong influx of young talent to keep pushing for an Ivy League championship. Two of the leaders on that chase will represent the U.S.A. in both the individual and team event in New Zealand. Both Gracie Doyle and Emme Leonard will compete at the World Junior Championships before making their way to Princeton in the fall.

Doyle has earned a No. 1 ranking at the U-19, U-17, and U-13 age groups, and she has the experience of playing at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Poland as well. The younger sister of rising Princeton junior Clark Doyle, Gracie's international career has also included the British Junior Open and the Pan-American Games.

Leonard moved to the No. 3 ranking at the U-19 level and will make her World Junior Championships debut this month. Leonard has had a strong career already — she placed third at the 2016 U-17 U.S. Nationals, and then finished fifth at the U-19 2017 U.S. Nationals — but this event will provide her even greater experience prior to her Princeton debut.

For more on the Princeton women's incoming Class of 2021, click here.

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