Cornell women’s squash opens its 2026-27 season Sunday at noon against No. 9 Columbia at the Belkin Squash Courts in Ithaca, with an experienced returning lineup and three freshmen expected to contribute immediately.
The Big Red enters ranked No. 8 in the College Squash Association preseason rankings. Seven of last season’s nine regular lineup players return after Cornell finished 8-9 overall and 3-3 in Ivy League regular-season play, earning a place in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament, according to Cornell Athletics’ season outlook.
Palmer targets another Ivy tournament berth
Head coach David Palmer, beginning his 11th season leading Cornell squash, wants the Big Red to qualify for the Ivy League’s four-team championship field again and maintain a top-eight national ranking heading into nationals.
“We’ve been very impressed with the preseason. We’ve got strong captains this year and good experience in the top order of our lineup,” Palmer said.
Senior Xin Ying Yee returns at No. 1 after posting a 10-4 record at the top position last season. A two-time CSA First Team All-American, Yee reached the semifinals of the 2025 CSA Individual Championships.
Palmer believes she can contend for an individual national title.
“For her, it would be to try to again make the semifinals of the individuals, with the goal of trying to win the individual championship,” he said. “On a day at her best level, that’s more than achievable.”
Returning players move up as freshmen enter lineup
Cornell must replace graduates Aishwarya Khubchandani and Alysa Ali, who spent most of last season at Nos. 2 and 3.
Sophomore Vicky Lai is slated to take the No. 2 position. Junior Sabine Ball and senior Christa Kay are expected to follow at Nos. 3 and 4, with freshman Alexie Tan projected to start at No. 5.
Tan joins Eloise Levin and Lucy Pierce in a three-player freshman class that Palmer expects to place entirely in the starting nine.
“Sometimes it takes freshmen a season or two to find their feet,” Palmer said. “But to have all three of them in the starting nine, and some of our more experienced players stepping up the lineup, we still feel we can achieve those goals.”
The returning players in the lower portion of the lineup include senior Maya Voloshin, who went 6-7 at No. 7 last season; senior Saniya Jaggi, who finished 5-7 at No. 8; and sophomore Lamees Shalaby, who went 5-7 at No. 9. Jaggi is expected to miss the opener.
Palmer considers that depth a strength as Cornell works through its lineup options.
“I feel like we probably have 11 or 12 players that could play in the starting nine, which is a great problem to have,” he said.
Ranked opponents await early
After Columbia, Cornell faces No. 3 Stanford in Norwalk, Connecticut, on Nov. 21 and visits No. 5 Trinity on Nov. 22.
Four of the Big Red’s final five regular-season matches will be at home. That stretch includes Ivy League visits from No. 10 Dartmouth on Feb. 6, No. 6 Harvard on Feb. 7 and No. 2 Penn on Feb. 14.
The Ivy League Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 20-21. The CSA National Team Championships follow March 4-7 at Princeton.
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