Women's Squash Does It All, Again

It is conceivable that the 1993-94 women's squash season could have gone badly.

That's saying something: the team's domination of women's collegiate squash has been as constant over the years as men's hairstyles at Princeton.

But this year was different. This year, the NCAA decided to switch ball types from the American class hardball to the more internationally-popular softball.

"It was a long time coming," Harvard senior Jordanna Fraiberg says. "Everyone else uses the softball, and it is favored in competitions worldwide. It has become pretty standard outside of America."

As has the metric system. But the softer variety presents a decisive advantage over the hardball--more exciting play.

"I think that it is just a lot more fun," Fraiberg says. "Of course, I might be a little bit biased because I'm from Canada, where I grew up playing with them, but softer balls mean longer volleys, which I think are more fun."

Apparently, her teammates didn't seem to mind them, either. For despite the change in balls, they picked up right where they left off last season, dominating regular-season play and winning the prestigious Howe Cup in the process.

"It was probably my best year team-wise since I've been here," Fraiberg says. "In the past, it has seemed more individualistic. This year, it seemed that everyone was counting on everyone else. We pushed each other hard, and were there for each other when we didn't do so well."

Of course, the latter occasion wasn't very frequent. The team started the season off with a 8-1 win over Brown, and then garnered 9-0 victories over Trinity, Franklin & Marshall, Williams and Penn.

The team came up against its toughest competition on February 6, when it hosted Princeton. The Tigers have consistently been one of the team's rivals the past few years, and showed why as the Crimson could only muster a 5-4 win.

But after that, it was pretty much smooth sailing, as the team blanked Dartmouth and Amherst, 9-0, took first place at the Howe Cup on February 18, and then captured the regular-season national championship at Yale with a 7-2 win over the Bulldogs.

"The Yale win was a definite highlight," Fraiberg says. "We were worried going in about our bottom five people holding up. They did, and we won pretty easily."

While team competition was over, the squad went on to participate in the individual championships March 4-6 at Brown. At the meet, Fraiberg won the national singles title for the second time in her career. She had won it previously her sophomore year, and had finished second her freshman year and fourth her junior year.

"This season had pretty much everything," Fraiberg says. "It had individuals highs and team highs."

WOMEN'S SQUASH

Record: 14-0

Ivy League: 5-0

Key Players:Jordanna Fraiberg, Libby Eynon, Erin Dockery

Seniors: Polly Butler, Jordanna Fraiberg