With the top echelon of the Ivies out of reach, women's squash hopes to steal fifth.

By Kate Moran

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Jennifer Field, PC '01, and the Elis hope to break in their new courts with a talented recruiting class.

On move-in day her freshman year, Carla Shen, TC '99, was startled to discover that her suite connected to that of Marion Ringel, TC '99. Shen and Ringel, the only seniors on the women's squash team, both hail from Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., and met years earlier while training at the Brooklyn Casino, one of the largest squash facilities in the country. In junior high and high school, they often competed against each other on the national circuit, but at Yale, they quickly became friends and have continued to live together since their freshman year.

Shen and Ringel, who have coached each other through dozens of games, face the last major tournament of their college careers this weekend. The women's squash team will travel up to Harvard on Fri., Feb. 19, where they will compete with seven other teams for the Howe Cup. The Elis, who have compiled an 8-5 record, enter the tournament ranked sixth, behind both Harvard, who is ranked first in the Ivy League, and Princeton, the defending champion. According to first-year head coach Mark Talbott, "We don't really have a shot at upsetting the top three teams--Harvard, Princeton, and Penn--but we'll be contending with Dartmouth for fifth place."

Yale already fell to Dartmouth twice this year, losing 6-3 at the Williams Invitational and 7-2 during the regular season. Dartmouth did not dominate in either of these matches, however. Both times the Bulldogs dropped several games in the fifth set. Talbott predicted that if the women can prevail in these tight matches they should be able to pull off a victory against Dartmouth at the Howe Cup. Captain Carla Shen added, "I think we lost to Dartmouth in part because the game was at Hanover. We played immediately after a very long bus ride, and we weren't as psyched as we could have been. I think people got intimidated. Everyone's really excited for this weekend, however--we're ready to play hard. We all realize we've got nothing to lose against Dartmouth."

The women are also ready to come out strong against Brown and Cornell at the Howe Cup. They narrowly defeated both teams earlier in the season. Loren Smith, SY '00, said "We're ready to show them it wasn't a fluke."

Last week, Yale suffered 9-0 losses to both Princeton and Trinity. The scoreless matches have not, however, appeared to lower morale going into the tournament. The Elis did not expect to beat defending champs Princeton and they were missing Shen, who plays in the No. 1 position, and Colleen Terry, SM '02, who plays at No. 5, against Trinity. "Princeton and Trinity were both really tough matches, but we've been able to put them behind us. We've been practicing hard all week and we're pumped for this weekend," Loren Smith commented. "We're ready for revenge."

The squash team's success in the rematches against Brown, Cornell, and Trinity hinges upon the performance of the players in positions five through nine. The top four players--Shen, Smith, Ringel, and Catherine Fiederowicz, MC '01--have been solid all season, but the bottom of the ladder consists mostly of freshman and sophomores who are inexperienced at the Division I level. Nevertheless, Talbott will rely heavily on his younger players this weekend. "The younger players have been working really hard, and I need them to come through for me this weekend," he said.

With a lack of depth in the lower positions, next year the squash team will certainly feel the loss of Ringel and Shen, who is a second team All-American. To replace these experienced players, Talbott has been scouting recruits at tournaments, camps, and at his own squash academy in Rhode Island. This past week Daphna Wegner, the top female squash player on the European circuit, came to visit the University from Israel on a recruiting trip, and several more international players will be visiting Yale in upcoming weeks.

In past years, high profile recruits such as Wegner might have preferred Princeton or Harvard, the top teams in the Ivy League, but Talbott's own prestige has now brought them to Yale. Talbott, who came to Yale just this year, has won six World Championships and was the top-ranked singles player in the world from 1983-1995. Shen commented on his impact on the women's squash program: "Coach Talbott has really been wonderful. Unlike our old coach, he spends a lot of time on the court with us." Fiederowicz added, "Playing with him is amazing. He really brings up our level of play, because he's a talent we won't find in collegiate tournaments."

Talbott believes the new squash facilities under construction in Payne Whitney, which include three new glass exhibition courts and twelve glass back courts, are also attracting recruits to Yale. "Next year Yale will have the best squash facilities in the world, and I hope to have a championship team to go along with the extraordinary new courts," he said.

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