ITHACA, N.Y. — The women's squash team starts its regular season with a non-league match against Williams at 11 a.m. Saturday at Belkin International Squash Courts.
 
Cornell is coming off a season in which it dropped just three of its first 13 matches before ultimately ending up 10-9 after an eighth-place finish at the Howe Cup. As such, the Big Red appears eighth in the Dunlop College Squash Rankings both at the end of last season and in the preseason tables this season.Now in the second year under the direction of David Palmer, the James Broadhead '57 Head Coach of Squash, Cornell's lineup promises to have a different look after the graduation of four pillars – including the top three entries on the ladder.
 
Junior Lucy Martin returns after leading the team in victories last season with an 11-7 record from the Nos. 7 and 8 positions. Senior Lauren Leizman and junior Madison Miles also had 10 victories apiece a season ago, and junior Colby Gallagher posted a winning 9-8 record from near the middle of the order.
 
Cornell unofficially started up the season two weeks ago at the Ivy Scrimmages, hosted by Yale. Senior Hannah Scherl recorded the lone point at No. 7. Cornell then came back later in the day and topped 10th-ranked Dartmouth, 7-2. Sophomore Mimi deLisser, Lucy Martin and Scherl all had three-game sweeps in the lower portion of the order. Though it ended in a loss, a 5-4 loss to seventh-ranked Columbia was a notable improvement to Cornell's twin 7-2 setbacks against the Lions last season. Assistant coach Scott Denne noted the strong performances all weekend from freshmen Steph Tan and Lily Zelov.
 
This will mark the fifth straight year Cornell will take on Williams during its opening weekend of competition. The Big Red is now 12-9 all-time against the Ephs after a 9-0 sweep last year. Williams enters this season tabbed 13th in the CSA's preseason rankings.