After an unprecedented run at the College Squash Association’s Potter Cup, the Cornell men’s squash team ended its 2012 season fourth in the nation. While two of the team’s top three players graduated last spring [Alex Domenick and Thomas Spettigue], senior co-captain Nick Sachvie returns to hold down the top spot in the lineup for the third consecutive season.The Red graduated two other players last spring — Dave Hilton and Will Hartigan — but gained four new freshmen for the 2012-13 squad. Graham Dietz, Karan Kankariva, Abhijit Maljk and Geoff Keating (whose joins his brother, junior Bryan Keating) are the team’s newest additions.The squad is certainly a young one this year — nine of the sixteen members are underclassmen — but the Red’s six seniors, including its other co-captain, Owen Butler, will certainly show the newest members the ropes.“The older members of the team know how the team dynamics work and how the actual schedule works for us,” men’s head coach Mark Devoy said. The Cornell women’s squash team also earned a higher national ranking at the end of the 2012 season, beating rival Stanford, 5-4, in the Howe Cup last February. As a result, the Red moved up from seventh to sixth in the country, and hopes to continue improving its standing this season.The women only graduated two members of the 2011-12 team, [Clare Berner and Lauren Sachvie], and thus is optimistic that its returning players and newest members will continue to build upon the success that the Red had last spring.Leading the Red this season are senior co-captains Jaime Laird and Maggie Remsen; sophomore Danielle Letourneau is also back, starting at the squad’s number one position. At the Cornell Round Robin two weekends ago, Letourneau defeated Stanford’s Pamela Chua, who she also defeated last season during the Howe Cup to give the Red a 5-4 victory and its No. 6 national ranking.The squad also welcomes four freshmen this season: Brynn Daniels, Reut Odinak, Olivia Wherry and Abbey Foster. The newcomers’ talents are promising, as Abbey Foster clinched Cornell’s 5-4 win over rival Stanford at the Cornell Round Robin. Foster played high up in the lineup during the tournament — she rotated between the No. 2, 3, and 4 spots — and is excited about her potential to help the Cornell squash program improve.“Hopefully I can continue to play well, keep winning matches and help the team get better and move up,” Foster said.Head coach Julee Devoy remains positive about this season, as the women went 3-0 at the Cornell Round Robin and also performed well at the Ivy League scrimmage three weekends ago.“We were very competitive and we were very happy with our performance,” said Devoy. “[These matches are] sort of an indication of where the team’s starting out, and as I’ve said, we can keep building from here.”
Original Author: Olivia Wittels