HAVERFORD, Pa. – Entering the 2017-18 campaign, the Haverford College women's squash team looks poised to take another big step forward after reaching the final of the E Division at the CSA Team Championships a season ago. The Fords finished with six wins a season ago, and ended the season with the No. 34 ranking. Entering this season, Haverford is the 30th-ranked squad in the nation according to the College Squash Association (CSA) rankings. The squad is hoping to replicate the recent success of the 2014-15 team that finished with 10 total wins.
Co-captains senior Isabelle Gotuaco and sophomore Kaitlin Reese will look to anchor a group that includes six newcomers: Hannah Adler, Tia Brown, Sunyoung Chai, Maddie Hager, Belen Madariaga and Eva Tamkin.
Last season, Gotuaco was named the Harrow Sports College Squash Player of the E Division after going 3-0 with three sweeps at the CSA Team Championships, dispatching the top ranked players from Washington University, Colgate and Georgetown on three straight days. Haverford fell by the narrowest of margins, 5-4, to the Hoyas to take second in the E Division.
Entering her senior season, Gotuaco sits in sixth all-time in program history with 27 wins. Moving up the career leaderboard will certainly be a milestone to watch for Gotuaco, who notably earned a bronze medal in the 2017 Southeast Asia Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this summer, competing for her native Philippines.
Reese had an impressive debut season a season ago, taking 12 individual wins for the most by a Haverford individual since Alex Love and Bethany Simmonds both matched the feat in 2014-15. Reese also participated in the CSA Individual Championships, representing Haverford in the Dartmouth-hosted event in early March.
Grace Fioramonti-Gorchow and Olivia Franco join Gotuaco as seniors looking to go out with a memorable campaign. Juniors Mason McNulty and Stephanie Lukez figure to factor largely in the myriad of decisive matches that dot the schedule. Sophia Jackson returns for her second season on the ladder, joining Reese as a returning sophomore.
The action all begins tomorrow with the Navy Round Robin in Annapolis, Md. Haverford will face Boston University (12 p.m.) and Johns Hopkins (5 p.m.). to begin the season at the Halsey Field House on the camous of the US Naval Academy. The Fords are next in action following tomorrow's debut matches on December 2 against No. 15 Bates and No. 29 Vassar in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Haverford's lone home date in January is against No. 19 Tufts and No. 28 Connecticut College on January 16. Haverford faces No. 21 Wesleyan, No. 25 Colby and No. 26 Hamilton at the Pioneer Valley Invite on January 19-20, a stretch of matches that represent an exciting bellweather test for a young squad.
The regular season concludes with four-straight home games with Dickinson and Georgetown (Feb. 3) ahead of Boston College and Bucknell (Feb. 10). The CSA Team Championships are slated February 16-18 at Harvard.