A new four day season begins today for the Cornell women’s squash team, as it heads to Princeton to battle for the Kurtz Cup at the WISA championships. The Red finds itself seeded second in a division which features familiar foes. Cornell is 3-1 against the opponents in its group.
“I think everyone on the team is really looking forward to a competitive weekend of matches,” said junior Allison Laycob. “That said, we are going into it with the attitude [that] we can win our division.”
The Red begins play against William Smith, a team it recently defeated 9-0. While the Red tries not to look past its initial opponents, it cannot help but think about the prospects of facing Amherst or Bates — two potential adversaries which had close matches with the Red during the regular season.
“Both Amherst and Bates are going to be tough matches for us,” Laycob said. “But we have been working hard and plan on beating them both this weekend.”
In its previous match with Amherst, the women received contributions from every spot in the lineup to take a tightly-contested 5-4 victory.
The Red, however, was on the opposite side of the same score in its recent match with Bates — a result the team would like to reverse if it gets the chance.
“Even though we lost, [the team] proved they could get by Bates,” said coach Julee Devoy. “[The loss] only got them pumped for [this weekend]. This time, we’ll go in knowing we can do it.”
The previous match was the Red’s closest of the season — it took wins from the top four spots in the lineup, but couldn’t get the extra win it needed to claim victory.
“I think we are all anxious for a rematch,” said senior Brooke Stetson.
The Red head into the tournament with a solid core of experienced players, including Laycob and Stetson, and is lead by freshman Mairin Barnes at No. 1. Their combined play propelled the Red to a 4-9 overall record — placing it 10th nationally.
“It’s a long weekend,” Stetson said. “But it is a great way to finish off the season because we have been working hard on our fitness and I think we’ll see the results.”
The tournament’s format guarantees that the Red will play at least two matches.
However, if it does not drop a match, the Red will continue play until this Sunday afternoon.
Archived article by Matt Gorman
Sun Staff Writer