First-years occasionally have an immediate impact on Amherst teams, but Allie Dalglish ’11 has certainly jumped right in. Playing in the number one spot for the women’s squash team, Dalglish has taken on a big role in her rookie campaign.

However, “playing up” is nothing new for this youngster. She began playing squash when she was 10, started competing in junior tournaments at age 13 and as an eighth grader was invited to join the high school team. After holding the seventh spot at Springside School in Philadelphia, Penn. in middle school, Dalglish jumped to number three the following year. She continued to climb as a sophomore, moving to the second spot on the ladder.

Before her junior year, Dalglish decided to transfer to the Lawrenceville School, a boarding high school in Lawrenceville, N.J. “I had been at the same all-girls school for 11 years and I felt like I had to experience a little more before I went to college,” said Dalglish. “I could have very happily stayed at Springside until graduation—it’s a great school and I loved all my friends there—but it felt small and I was anxious to get some new experiences in my life. I think [that] is one of the best decisions I have made for myself so far.”

Dalglish was second on the squash ladder as both a junior and a senior at Lawrenceville. “The girl above me went to Trinity College,” explained Dalglish. Trinity is known for its dominance in squash and typically contends for the national title every year.

In addition to her contributions on the squash team, Dalglish participated in field hockey and lacrosse in high school. “It was nice to balance individual and team sports,” she said. “In an individual sport, it is easy to be negative and focus on every mistake that you made. In team sports, it is harder to blame one person and it is easier to focus on the positive things that the team did together.”

But the individual sport, squash, is big in Dalglish’s hometown of Fort Washington, Penn., and in the entire Philadelphia area. “If you live in Philadelphia you know what squash is and you know a bunch of people who play it,” she said. “It’s a really popular sport.”

Dalglish decided early on to play squash in college. She originally considered Div. I programs, but college squash is unique in that all teams are subject to the same College Squash Association rankings and Div. III teams regularly play Div. I opponents. For example, this season Amherst has played University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College, as well as Yale, Brown and Cornell Universities, among others. “I realized Div. III was the ultimate decision,” Dalglish said on choosing a college. “At Div. III, the school is not totally defined as a squash program.”

Yet, currently ranked 16th in the nation, Amherst has a competitive team. As Dalglish stepped up to the college level, she also stepped into the top spot on the ladder for the first time­—a tall order for a rookie. “It is really hard playing at the number one spot as a freshman because I [have] had to play so many unbelievable competitors and [have] had to get used to defeat,” Dalglish said. “There are so many tough matches; I always have to push hard.”

As a result of Dalglish’s hard work, she has held her own in the top spot for Amherst. In addition, she continues to find positives as a result of being on a team. “Being on this team has been a great experience,” Dalglish said “I got really hard on myself after a few matches and I really think it is incredible how supportive the team is. Teammates always take me aside just to say how well they think I’m doing and to pump up my spirits.”

It seems the entire team benefits from that optimism and reassurance. “Some teams take defeat and give up,” Dalglish said, “[but] our team turns it into fuel to get better and beat the next team.”

As an example, she cited eighth-seeded Amherst’s victory over-sixth seeded Tufts University in the NESCAC Tournament, after Tufts had beaten Amherst earlier this season. “Our [win against] Tufts at NESCACs is a perfect example of our team’s fire and grit,” Dalglish said of the young Jeff squad, where three of the top four players are first-years. “I can’t wait to have three more years on the squash team. We are definitely going places.”

Since Dalglish is accustomed to moving up, that is a good sign.