CSA 05-06 Previews

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Women's 05-06 Season Outlook:      [More about Princeton Women's Squash]

The 04-05 Princeton Squash Trained pre-season in Amsterdam. photo © 2004 Debra Tessier

The past season was a positive one for the Tigers. The squad notched a fourth place finish at the Howe Cup hosted in Princeton (the first Howe Cup Championships ever to be hosted here) and also controlled the fourth spot in the CSA final team rankings. In dual match play the team gathered a 9-3 win-loss record with two close losses, one against a strong Trinity team 4-5 and the other when facing off with a determined Harvard squad 3-6. Individually Claire Rein-Weston led the Tigers in the CSA rankings while receiving CSA first team All American recognition. Gen Lessard put in an outstanding overall season and was named to the CSA Second Team All American roster.

Claire Rein-Weston will anchor the 05-06 Princeton squad. photo © 2005 Go Princeton Tigers.

All ten of Princeton starters received CSA rankings which displayed the depth the squad will have to work with in the coming 2005 season. Graduation hit the Tigers at the number 9-12 positions with the departure of some outstanding individuals with great leadership skills and experience. The Class of 2005 consisted of Tricia Gadsden (co-captain), Franny MacKay (co-captain), Annie Warner, Francie Comey, Casey Degan, and Tracy Solomon.

The 2005-06 season will be a challenging and testing period for the Princeton Women’s Squash Team. One of our primary focuses will be on getting healthy and staying healthy for several key players on the orange and black squad. The Tigers will return 10 of the top 12 players from the 2004-05 season. The junior class of Claire Rein-Weston, Marilla Hiltz, Gen Lessard, Ali Pearson, and Anina Nolan will form a core group with a wealth of experience and talent to lead the way for the Tigers. A quick-learning and gifted group of sophomores will strength the team as it consists of five strong players, including Lena Neufeld, Christina Fast, Margaret Kent, Carly Grabowski, and Casey Riley.

If all goes to plan, Ali Pearson and Casey Riley will return to the line up after a long season on the injury reserve list. Casey will be returning from an ACL injury and Ali Pearson for a stress fracture that sidelined both of them for most of the year. Gen Lessard will be returning to the line up once she is fully recovered from her knee surgery.

The team elected three players to captain the squad, senior Rececca Shingleton, and juniors Marilla Hiltz and Anina Nolan. Working together they hope to stimulate the team to a best-ever performance. The squad is rounded out with some dedicated and determined returning players also vying for a starting position; they are senior Merril Hermanson, juniors Alex Day, Martha Kelley, Annie Erdman, and Anne Vale and sophomores Becca Perlman and Virginia Woolworth.

The newcomers to the Princeton program will be freshman Maggie O’Toole from Short Hills, NJ, Joanna Scoon, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, and Aly Brady from Philadelphia, PA. They are a talented group, and all have the potential to work their way into the varsity line during their first semester. Head Coach Gail Ramsay said, “The whole squad has a lot of potential and there are over a dozen players who could play top varsity squash. I particularly look forward to getting to know the freshmen, and expect they will each contribute something unique to the program.”

Maggie O’Toole ‘09 Maggie O’Toole is a graduate of The Pingry School in Martinsville, New Jersey. At Pringry Maggie was a three-sport athlete, playing soccer in the fall, squash in the winter, and track in the spring. In her senior year Maggie’s soccer team won the County, Conference, Sectional, and State Championships and were ranked number one in New Jersey and number nine in the United States. Because Maggie has played soccer in the Fall, she has always started her squash season later than most of her peers, and has had to focus and work hard to sharpen up her squash skills for each junior competitive season. She has done this consistently well over her five-year junior squash career. She learned her squash at the Chatham Club in New Jersey from Geoff Mitchell and his coaching staff. Maggie is ranked number 10 in the U19 division nationally and reached the quarter-final of the U.S. Closed Championship in March 2005.

At Princeton Maggie’s athletic style of play will be her greatest asset as she starts to challenge into the line up. Combined with her wonderful racquet skills and remarkable court coverage, it is clear that she will make a strong impression on the returning players. She will also bring to Princeton Squash a great work ethic, determination, and competitiveness. When Maggie is not on the court, field, or track she enjoys dancing, listening to music, playing the piano, golf, singing, and writing. She is still trying to figure out her academic niche but is leaning toward a degree in Business, English, or Spanish.

Joanna Scoon is from Westmoorings, Trinidad and Tobago and graduated from St. Joseph's Convent. As a high school student Joanna played soccer for her school team and was recognized on a number of occasions for her achievements, most recently being selected as 'Most Outstanding Player' in the U19 division by her team's administration. Outside of school Joanna works hard on her squash game and has a number of titles and some great results.

In 2003 she place 9th in the Caribbean Women’s Championships. In 2004, she placed 6th in the Women’s division of the Southern Caribbean Championships. In 2004 Joanna was the winner of the Caribbean Girls U-17 Championship and is currently the Girls U-19 Champion Caribbean Champion. Joanna plays at the Cascadia Squash Club and is presently coached by Karen Chung the national coach for Trinidad and Tobago men’s, women’s, and junior teams.

Joanna’s academic interests are in mathematics and biology, and she thinks she would like to pursue a career in medicine. Joanna likes to likes going to the beach and to the movies with friends and family, as well as traveling to various Caribbean destinations when she is not studying or playing squash.

Joanna is very athletic and will up the intensity at practice for the Tigers. She will also prosper a lot from playing her teammates and will be looking to improve quickly and to challenge into the varsity squad as a freshman.

Aly Brady is from Philadelphia, PA and grew up playing her squash at the Philadelphia Cricket Club with Julia Harris and Bill Lane. She currently ranks 13 in the U19 in the US and has competed at the national level since the very early years of her squash career. As early as age 11 she showed some great potential with a third place finish in the US Open U13. She will bring lots of match experience to the Princeton line up and will find the challenges that will help her develop her game to the next level. Aly is expected to challenge into the varsity line up and should continue to move up that ladder. She is not only a nationally ranked singles player but also has two US national double titles, one in 2002 and the other in 2004.

Off the court, but not too far off, Aly finds time to volunteer at Squash Smarts, a non- profit organization that helps inner-city kids experience squash and the opportunities it can bring. For fun on the sporting side she enjoyed playing lacrosse for William Penn Charter School and is also a keen tennis player. At school, she also tutored and was the Sports Editor of her yearbook. For total relaxation she like snowboarding, skiing, and once the weather warms up hitting the beaches for a little surfing. At Princeton she will be looking into Architecture, possibly Art History once she arrives.