2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Roster | Preview Video | Social Media | Follow Live
LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's women's squash team finished last season at No. 18 after picking up a pair of wins in the Walker Cup (C Division) of the Collegiate Squash Association (CSA) Team Championships. With a host of talented newcomers and a number of key returners from last season's 9-13 squad, the Diplomats have their sights set on a top-12 finish.
The road toward achieving that goal begins on Friday, when F&M opens up the 2014-15 campaign at Haverford, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
To watch the season preview video, click here.
2014-15 Diplomats
F&M ran off a pair of wins at the CSA Team Championships last season, taking down No. 23 Mount Holyoke by a 6-3 score, before advancing to the Walker Cup (C Division) Finals with a 6-3 win against No. 19 St. Lawrence. The Diplomats fell just short of their first Walker Cup Title since 2011, dropping a 6-3 match to No. 17 Amherst. Throughout the season, F&M played competitively against teams ranked in the nation's top 25, capturing five wins on the year.
The Diplomats will need to overcome the loss of graduating captains Roxanna Mead and Liz Gatling, who were fixtures in F&M's order. Aside from the leadership each player brought to the squad, both provided reliability in the lineup with Mead capturing 11 wins and Gatling registering nine.
However, F&M returns its No. 1 from a year ago, as well as six regulars from the lineup, to go along with a three-member freshmen class that contains a number of first-year players expected to crack the top nine.
Returning Contributors
Fiona Murphy
Emily Caldwell
Dulakshi Elikewela
Jazmin Matos
Kate O'Brien
Players to Watch
Returning No. 1 Murphy enters her sophomore season with lofty expectations and will be looked at to anchor the top of the order. Murphy is expected to be one of the top players in the nation with the hopes of providing F&M with its first All-American since 2002.
Caldwell will also see time near the top of the Diplomats' lineup after recording a 6-6 record at the No. 1 spot last season, finishing the year with an 8-12 mark. Elikewela captured three wins from the No. 2 position, while Matos had the second-highest win total on the team (10), playing anywhere from No. 4-7 in the order.
Freshman Sherilyn Yang from Singapore will make an immediate impact, and is expected to be one of the top-two players on the team, while fellow first-year player Lauren Johnston is also being looked upon to crack the top five. Andreina Benedith comes to Lancaster as the Urban National Squash junior's under-19 champion and currently holds the No. 6 position on the roster.
The Road Ahead
Following F&M's season-opener on Friday, the No. 17 Diplomats travel to Trinity College on Saturday to face off against No. 19 Bowdoin at 4:00 p.m. F&M's first home contest is slated for Sunday, Nov. 23 with a doubleheader against Dickinson at 9:00 a.m. and No. 9 Columbia at 12:00 p.m.
No. 1 Harvard comes to the Mayser Center on Monday, Jan. 12 for a 12:00 p.m. showdown, while the CSA Team Championships are set to run from Feb. 13-15, hosted by Harvard. The CSA Individual Championships will take place from Feb. 27-March 1 at Princeton.
Follow Along (Social Media)
All of your favorite Diplomat athletic teams are available on social media. Follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to the Diplomats YouTube page for frequent highlight videos of games throughout the season.
All home contests will now be streamed in HD video, free of charge. Fans can follow the action through the live stats page, found here.
