Women's Squash Opens 2016-17 Season On Saturday

Posted: Nov 11, 2016

HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's squash team comes into the 2016-17 campaign with a hopeful tone and attitude, building on successes from last season while also replacing five seniors who graduated from the ladder with some young newcomers looking to make an immediate impact on the program. The College Squash Association (CSA) has ranked the Fords as the No. 30 varsity team in the nation in its preseason poll.

Haverford finished with a 6-14 record overall and was ranked No. 32 in the CSA Rankings after competing in the Epps Cup a season ago. The team also picked up a major honor as Head coach Niki Clement was named the recipient of the the Chaffee Award, an award presented annually to a women's coach whose team has demonstrated the qualities of sportsmanship, teamwork, character and improvement.

Clement, who is just 13 wins shy of becoming Haverford's all-time leader in women's squash wins as a head coach, will rely on returning captains Isabelle Gotuaco and Isabel Agnew for leadership, as the Fords also return veterans Grace Fioramonti-Gorchow, Emilia Cobbs and Olivia Franco to the squad.

Individually, Gotuaco finished with a team-best 11 wins in 2015-16, including five which came at the No. 1 spot on the ladder. Agnew finished with nine overall wins, which moves her into a tie for third all-time in program history with a season to go.

The Fords add newcomers Kaitlin Reese, Sarah Jesup, Sophia Jackson, Anna Kullnigg, Stephanie Lukez and Mason McNulty to the team for the 2016-17 season. In addition, Sarah Smyth, a former player at Smith College, joins the Fords as an assistant coach while maintaining active membership in club squash in the Delaware Valley.

Haverford will have some key showdowns on the schedule starting on Saturday against Johns Hopkins. The Vassar Invitational in the season's second weekend will also be a test for the Fords and home showdowns with Georgetown (Feb. 4) and Boston College (Feb. 11) will prove to be a good test of the mettle of a young squad.

Haverford will get its season underway this weekend with a match at Navy against Johns Hopkins (4:30 p.m.) on Saturday.