Trinity blanks M. Squash in 9-0 triumph

Trinity - 9 Penn - 0

The Penn men's squash team experienced what the No. 1 team in the country had to offer on Saturday afternoon at Ringe Squash Courts.

Penn lost, 9-0, winning only one game in all nine matches. The Quakers, now 5-6, knew going into the match the type of opponent Trinity would be.

"Trinity is like an NBA team playing a high school team," junior Sam Miller said. "It's the same way when they play other collegiate teams."

The Red and Blue understand the reasons behind playing the No. 1 team in the country in such a one-sided match.

"We're only going to get better by playing better people," Miller said. "The Trinity match definitely helped us to prepare for Princeton this Thursday. We felt the best you could possibly feel after losing 9-0."

The highlighted match of the afternoon took place at the No. 1 position. Two freshmen -- Penn's Richard Repetto and Trinity's Bernardo Samper battled in a four game match.

Samper is currently the No. 1 ranked player in the country, and Repetto is ranked No. 10.

Repetto lost 3-1 but not before giving Samper a bit of a scare. Repetto came out a little slow losing the first six points of the first game and ultimately, the game 9-2.

The second game was more evenly contested. At one point the score was 5-5, before Samper went on a tear for four straight points to win, 9-5.

The third game proved different as Repetto jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead before winning the game 9-5.

As both players began to tire in the fourth game, Samper took control and eventually won, 9-3, and the match, 3-1.

"I went out there with the intention of beating Samper," Repetto said. "I just didn't get started the way I thought I might, and the match seemed to slip away from me at the end."

The loss marks Repetto's first defeat and drops his previously unblemished record to 8-1.

Penn's other players did not even fare as well as Repetto. In addition to facing the No. 1 team in the country, Penn had to mix up its lineup because of injuries.

Missing both of their captains -- senior John Griffin and junior Elan Levy -- due to injury, younger players were forced to step up and play in higher positions on the ladder than usual.

Freshman Andrew Crockett moved up to the No. 4 position and took on the Bantams' Nadeem Osman.

Although Crockett lost, 3-0, he realized the significance of playing a tough opponent like Osman.

"I knew it was going to be a tough match going into it," Crockett said. "We went out there, just like in every other match, with the mindset to battle for every single point."

Looking to get back to their winning ways, the Quakers will take on Ivy League rival Princeton Thursday night.

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