New Haven, CT — Dissatisfied with their performance the year before, a Yale squad comes out with all cylinders firing, wins the Ivy crown, and makes it to the finals of the national team championships.
Sound familiar? That’s how the 2009-2010 season played out for the Yale men, and if the Yale women have anything to say about it, 2010-2011 will be their turn — except they want to one-up the men and bring a national title back to New Haven.
According to head coach Dave Talbott, every match will be crucial for the Bulldogs as they had six losses last season. The 2009-2010 team remains almost completely intact, with only one player from the top 9 graduating. The loss of that player, 2010 Richey Award winner Alia Aziz, is significant, but the team will be gaining a strong first-year class: Lilly Fast, Kim Hay, Coco Seibert, Gwen Tilghman, and Millie Tomlinson. Tomlinson is the number 1 player U19 in Europe, and Hay is a member of the England’s junior national team.
Seniors Sarah Toomey, Caroline Reigeluth, and captain Logan Greer will provide leadership for the team, which includes the deep junior class of Lexi Van Arkel, Rhetta Nadas, Aly Kerr, Kelly Mulrow, and Cat Morris, and the sophomore class of Katie Harrison, Katie Ballaine, and Caroline Brown, who have years of squash experience. “This whole group give us strength at the top, some experience in the middle, and some needed depth at the bottom of the line-up,” says Talbott.
Assistant coaches Pam Saunders and Gareth Webber will also be back this season. Webber ran six weeks of squash camp at Yale over the summer with Saunders joining him for most of the sessions, and Mark Allen, Neil Harvey, and John White all participating in different weeks.
If the Brady Squash Center was busy over the summer, the players were even busier. Greer helped the US win the bronze medal at the World University Squash Games in Melbourne, Australia, and all of the players were either gaining work experience or advancing their studies, many of them working — and playing squash — overseas.
“Yale enters this year with specific goals and a lot of focus,” Talbott says. “Everyone at Yale Squash is very excited about this season.”
2009-2010 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 10-6
Final Ranking: 4
Team Championships: 4th Over All; 4th in Howe Cup (A Division)
2010-2011 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Head Coach: David Talbott
Returning Players from Team Championships: Katie Ballaine (6); Logan Greer (1; 1st Team All-American; All-Ivy League Team); Katie Harrison (9); Aly Kerr (8); Rhetta Nadas (4); Caroline Reigeluth (7); Sarah Toomey (3; 1st Team All-American; All-Ivy League Team); Lexi Van Arkel (5)
Graduates on Last Season’s Team Championships Roster: Alia Aziz (2; 1st Team All-American; All-Ivy League Team; 2009-2010 Captain; Richey Award Winner); Kaki Ettinger (10); Kaitlin Vinci (11)
Additions to the 2010-2011 Roster: Lilly Fast, Kim Hay, Coco Seibert, Gwen Tilghman, and Millie Tomlinson
Captain: Logan Greer
Team Goals: Win the Ivy Championship, Howe Cup, and National Championship
To read other team previews, please visit the 2010 – 2011 College Squash Preview Page.
