Kirsten Gillibrand: Closet Squash Goddess

by James Zug
February 4, 2009, 11:55 am for Vanity Fair

There's been no mention in the profiles of the new junior senator from New York, but Kirsten Gillibrand's first leadership position was as captain of the women's squash team at Dartmouth in 1987-88. Could this omission stem from the fact she was known as Tina Rutnik in college?

Like many members of college squash teams, Gillibrand arrived on campus a tennis player, having been at the top of the ladder of the Emma Willard squad. Aggie Bixler Kurtz, the legendary Big Green squash coach, enticed her inside to the squash courts. Gillibrand didn't play in a dual match her freshman year; sophomore year she went 14-10; and junior year 9-2. Her senior year, she co-captained the team (along with Joanne Halpern) to a very good season: Dartmouth came in second at the Howe Cup nationals and suffered two excruciating 4-5 losses to Yale and Brown. “Tina won with finesse and knowing where to hit the ball,” said Kurtz, now in the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame. “We didn't have many players on any of my teams who won by out hitting the opposition.”

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