October 30, 2003

W. Squashers Begin Year at Scrimmages

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Things are heating up for the women’s squash team, as it travels to Dartmouth this weekend to participate in the Ivy Scrimmages, the team’s season-opening event. All the Ivy League squash teams will participate in this event, which serves as a preseason tournament to get each team’s competitive edge back in gear after having been away all summer.

Cornell head coach Scott Stoneburgh is enthusiastic about the upcoming weekend.

“The team is as ready as they could possibly be at this point in the season,” Stoneburgh said.

The matches played this weekend will provide a challenge for the team. Six of the top seven Division I squads are members of the Ivy League. Cornell, however, is not a member of this group. Yet, Stoneburgh has a lot of confidence for the upcoming season.

“The four new freshmen are going to considerably strengthen the lineup,” he said. “Not only that, but our returning players are playing better than last season, and we are really working to improve our national ranking.

“I am confident that we will break into the top ten this year.”

The players attending the Ivy Scrimmages this weekend include co-captains junior Brooke Stetson and sophomore Cory Worfield, as well as juniors Caitlin Russell, Joanna Wolfson, and Claire Zipf, sophomores Allison Laycob and Stephanie Tsay, and freshmen Anna Beavis, Margot Dickson, Caitlin Russell, and Jamie Singer.

“We have been working really hard all year and are looking for a strong performance this weekend,” said Zipf.

The team will be playing Yale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, followed by Penn at 1 p.m., and Brown at 4 p.m.

“The teams we are facing are very strong, but I think our outcome will be better than last year,” Wolfson said. “We have bonded more this year and are getting along very well. This makes matches more fun and exciting.”

The regular season competition begins the weekend of Nov. 22-23, when the Red hosts Penn and Princeton at the Belkin Squash Courts.

Though the season is dominated by Ivy competition, Stoneburgh is also looking forward to two matches in January against Bowdoin and Bates, which will most likely be the team’s closest opponents.

“Both are in the top 10, and therefore, within reach of our squad,” he said.

Although these matches are always on their minds, the girls are eager to get to Hanover, N.H. this weekend to get the season started.

Archived article by Julie Heckman