If you Google Nour Bahgat amongst the results are links to the draws of the 2007 Women's World Junior Championships, where she was a quarterfinalist in the individual event and part of Egypt's championship team, and the 2008 British Junior Open, where she reached the quarterfinals. Also in there is a link to a U.S. Squash forum where squash enthusiasts speculated last spring where Nour would head for college with a posting in mid April triumphantly announcing, "Trinity!" with a link to a U.S. Squash story about Nour's win in the Women's 5.5 Division at the Skill Level Championships.

Nour, who has been at Trinity for more than a month now, giggled when told about the interest she generated months back. She has already begun training with her team and is focused on helping them win a championship. Nour will immediately contend for the No. 1 spot on a team that returns four All Americans. Trinity finished fourth nationally, and found themselves in a group of five top teams that could defeat each other on any given day.

"My goal is to win all my matches," Nour said. "Here it's a bigger issue, which is interesting and I like a lot. Here when you win, you win for the team."

It was actually Gail Ramsay, head coach of the national champion Princeton Tigers, who first spoke to Nour about attending college in the U.S. The two met at the 2006 British Junior Open. At that point, Nour had never thought about attending college in the U.S. The prospect was enticing to her though, and after looking into it more, upon Ramsay's recommendation she decided to attend The Lawrenceville School for a post grad year.

Nour's decision to come to the U.S. was made independently, with her parents feeling she should decide what was best for her.

"They guide me," Nour said. "If your parents are open minded, it has an effect on you."

Nour is very close to both of her parents. It was her father, Moshen, who introduced her to squash. Moshen is a former international player who played alongside the likes of Jahangir and Jansher Khan. Nour's father has been her primary coach since she started playing.

"It's a big thing now that I am here and he is in Egypt, and I am really looking forward to him coming here and watching me play" Nour said. "He taught me everything I know about squash. It's a very personal thing."

It was also her father that motivated Nour to keep playing when she felt like quitting several years ago.

"When I was 13 years old I took my squash bag and gave it to my dad and said I didn't want to play anymore because it wasn't interesting."

Nour explained that she felt some pressure, and she feared the time commitment squash required could affect her schoolwork. She and her father devised a practice schedule that saved time and soon later she was loving playing again.

Nour's mother, Siham, has also been a major source of support during her squash career. Siham was with Nour when she won U17 titles at the 2005 Pioneer and Dutch Junior Opens, played back to back. Nour considers those amongst the victories that mean the most to her, along with a win over Malaysia's Lo Wee Wern, a player she previously had little success against, to advance to the quarters of the Women's World Junior individual tournament in 2007.

While Nour's mother never discouraged her from attending school in the U.S., she was not excited about the prospect of her going so far away from home. In addition, her family was unfamiliar with the concept of a post grad year.

Nour also initially struggled with the idea of spending a year at Lawrenceville, a decision made easier when she was granted a full scholarship to the school. While at Lawrenceville, Nour focused on her grades and the SATs. She was interested in several schools, including Princeton, Stanford and Penn. Peter Becker, one of her squash coaches at Lawrenceville, recommended she consider Trinity. In March it was down to a couple of schools with Trinity emerging as the best fit in the end.

"It was such a stressful time," Nour said of the application process. "I was away from home and very homesick."

Now settled in at Trinity, Nour feels comfortable. She has been practicing with her teammates, and sometimes works members the men's team. She is enjoying the diversity of the College, and the teams.

"It is such a beautiful feeling to be among international students," Nour said. "You don't feel as homesick."

Nour has also immersed herself in her classes and taken on three jobs.

"I feel she has absolutely plunged right in," said Wendy Bartlett, head coach of the Trinity women's team. "I give her so much credit for hanging in there and trying to do the best thing for her."

Nour knows she could have continued playing a high level of squash and gone to a great school back home, but is after something more.

"This is such a good experience in life, being independent," she said. "I wanted to give it a shot. I really believe in this."

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