Breaking Down Women’s Squash NESCAC Victory with Jana Safy ’25 and Fabiola Cabello ’26

Annika Dyczkowski ’25

Executive Sports Editor

On Sunday, Feb. 9, Trinity Women’s Squash upheld its reputation of excellence by winning its 18th consecutive NESCAC championship. Players Jana Safy ’25 and Fabiola Cabello ’26, both strong returners for the Bantams, shared their experiences with the Tripod.

Going into the weekend, both players expressed that the team’s energy levels were lower than normal. “We went to Yale on Wednesday and honestly everyone was tired,” said Safy. “I definitely feel like the team was a little bit tired,” added Cabello. “We have most of our really hard matches during J-Term, so it kind of feels like this is a middle point of preparation for nationals.” Regardless of past matches and quick turnarounds, the team was ready to win going into the weekend. “The whole team was obviously united towards the same goal. We always like to give each other feedback about how we’re feeling and what we need,” stated Cabello. She continued, “We all had that feeling of welcoming from all of the people who were coming to watch us, so it was definitely more special than other years.”

The Sunday championship match was both the men’s and women’s squash teams “All In” competitions. Coined by the athletics department, the concept encourages all athletes to attend a team’s competition on a given day and is incentivized by a point system. Both players noted that the conference final game was exciting because of the Trinity community members that showed up. “Having [the tournament] here definitely helps a lot, because it’s always fun to have crowds cheering for us,” Safy stated. 

On semifinal day against Wesleyan University, Cabello was #5 on the ladder and succeeded in all three games 11-5, 11-2 and 11-7, adding to the 9-0 final score in favor of the Bantams. Safy competed in the championship match at #1 on the ladder, sweeping her Tufts University opponent in all three games 11-3, 11-4 and 11-8 which contributed to the Bantams 9-0 final score over the Tufts Jumbos. The Bantams have a dominating history in the NESCAC, having never lost the NESCAC title since the tournament’s start in 2007, infamous to other schools in the conference for their exceeding success and competitive edge.  “I enjoy NESCACs because they’re more on the chill side,” said Safy. “People get to rest and other people who don’t usually play will play, so that’s always really helpful.”

As the program’s history illustrates, Trinity was the favored team heading into the tournament. However, Safy emphasized the importance of maintaining a competitive edge on such weekends. “You never know what’s gonna happen. Even if they’re not technically ‘better schools,’ they still come out because the other teams have nothing to lose, so to speak.” Cabello expressed the same sentiment, “There’s always that moment when we think like, ‘oh my god, this could be that year,’ you know, but we feel so much respect for the other teams… the captains make sure that everyone knows it doesn’t matter where you’re playing [on the ladder], you should always show your best.”

In addition to always showing up for their opponents and each other, the players say that their team culture is a key contributor to their success. “It’s really funny for me when people from campus find it cool I’m on the squash team, because it’s just normal stupid girls hitting a ball against the wall,” Safy laughed. “Everyone’s always joking around and they’re just silly human beings.” In reference to the championship game, Cabello stated, “I feel like sometimes we get too serious and we forget how to have fun with it, but it was really fun.”

Parallel to the importance of their high-spirited team culture, Safy stated, “To me, if I’m enjoying what I’m doing, I’m doing it really well. I think that is the case for a lot of us on the team.” She continued, “If practice is uptight and boring, nobody’s feeling good, but if we’re actually having a good time, that’s when we have our best practices.” Cabello extended the same feeling, stating, “It’s always about what is best for the team, so we always try to stay together and find a way to have fun because that changes everything for us.” She finished, “We’ve had really tight matches when you feel like you can’t push anymore, but then you see the overall score and people cheering you on because you might be the deciding match and you have to give that extra push.”

The team is composed of almost all international players, with two Americans on a 14-player roster. All of the team’s international players are ranked top five in their respective countries for their age group. Safy stated that each player’s reputation is a motivator,  “We have always had this expectation to perform well,” she stated. “Bringing that kind of energy and experience makes us want to succeed together,” said Cabello. 

The College Squash Association National Team Championship is right around the corner, beginning on Thursday, March 6. The team was ranked second in the country going into the conference tournament, trailing first place Harvard University whom Trinity defeated 5-4 earlier this season. “We have big expectations from last year and I think we’re definitely on the right path for nationals. We have the right team and I’m really excited to see how that’s going to play out.”