LEWISTON, Maine -- The No. 20 nationally ranked Bates women's squash team welcomes four first-years to the fold after graduating just one senior, giving the Bobcats some extra excitement entering the 2024-25 season. Bates takes on No. 27 Connecticut College in Boston on the campus of Northeastern University Friday at 3 p.m.

Due to a scheduling quirk, the Bates women's squash season is beginning two weeks later this year than the men's.

"They are itching to get on the court," head coach Reinhold Hergeth said. "It's important for the first-years in particular to get that competition experience early in the year. They had a few extra weeks to get stronger this year in practice due to the late start to the season." 

Bates is led by senior captain Grace Flaherty (Malvern, Pa.) and sophomore captain Tia Billimoria (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), who each bring their own unique style to the table.

"Tia and I have established a really good balance on the team of fun and hard work," Flaherty said on the most recent Bates Bobcast. "We want it to be as fun of an experience as possible, but the team also needs to know when to lock in and focus." 

Despite only being a sophomore, Billimoria's meticulous nature has already made a big impact on the program.

"I am always saying to the team, 'this is what we have to do, we have to do it this way,'" Billimoria said. "But it comes from a place of love and we all have to contribute and push and that's the only way to grow in my opinion."

Flaherty will start the year playing at the No. 2 position in the lineup while Billimoria slots in at No. 5.

"It's definitely a jump from last semester," Flaherty said. "I think I was number six last semester. It's awesome, and definitely a lot of responsibility. Even though each position matters exactly the same, you're still setting an example when you play that high in the lineup."

Bates graduated three-time first team All-NESCAC selection Andy Martagon '24, so sophomore Navya Gupta (New Delhi, India) moves up to the No. 1 position in the lineup, after earning second team All-NESCAC honors as a rookie.

"Andy was so solid at No. 1 last year, and the years before I was even here," Billimoria said. "And Navya is going to step into that spot and do a terrific job."

As for the four first-years, Scarlett Hine (Bronxville, N.Y.) and Yasmine Khan (Seattle, Wash.) will start the season at the No. 3 and 4 positions respectively, while Sav Thomson (Kingston, Jamaica) and Neha Taneja (Kirkland, Wash.) slot in at No. 6 and No. 8.

"I love having what my high school coach called "fresh meat" on the team," Flaherty said. "The first-years are all very hardworking and ready to get after it, which is great for such a small team. I'm really excited to see where the first-years and the sophomores are at right now, how they do, where they go. And I think that we have a ton of potential this season."

Sophomore Angelina Amastal (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and senior Daina Velez (Bronx, N.Y.) fill out the lineup at No. 7 and No. 9 for Bates. Fellow senior Dani Levy (Brookline, Mass.) provides some depth, as Bates will be missing junior Aasya Patel (Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India), who is studying abroad this year.

"We want to give the seniors a really good sendoff because the end of your four years in college squash is also the end of your squash journey in a way," Billimoria said. "We want to thank them for everything they've done. I hope we do really well this year and I hope we give Bates some really good results to talk about."