M. Squash fails in bid for ninth

The Penn men's squash team could not claim its goal of ninth-best team in the nation, posting a final national ranking of No. 10 this weekend.

The Quakers finished second in the Hoehn Division of the National Intercollegiate Squash Racquets Association Team Championships held at Harvard. The Hoehn division consisted of the No. 9 through 16 teams in the country competing for a final ranking of No. 9.

Since the Quakers were unable to break into the national Top 8 during the regular season, they were forced to compete in the Hoehn Division for the second straight season.

Also like last year, the Quakers fell in the championship match for a No. 10 ranking.

Penn, ranked No. 9 going into the team championships, started the weekend well by coasting to an 8-1 victory over Hobart. The Statesmen were ranked a lowly sixteen at the start of competition.

"We came out strong and won a match that we expected to win," Penn freshman No. 1 Richard Repetto said. "It's simple; Hobart just wasn't as good as us."

After disposing of Hobart, the Red and Blue faced off against Bowdoin College in the semifinal round. Again the Quakers did not receive much of a challenge. Penn knocked off the Polar Bears, 7-2.

Five Quakers were able to win their respective matches 3-0.

Penn sophomore Daniel Rottenberg clinched a semifinal victory, as well as a spot in the finals, for the Quakers by winning a five game thriller at the No. 7 spot.

After two matches in as many days, the Red and Blue played their third and most important match of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. Penn took on the No. 10 seed, Denison.

"Denison was the only team up there that we knew could give us a match," Repetto said.

In a hard fought battle, a tired Penn squad fell to the Big Red, 5-4.

During the regular season Penn defeated Denison, 6-3, earning the Quakers their highest ranking of the year at No. 9.

In the defeat, Repetto, junior No. 2 Sam Miller, junior co-captain No. 4 Elan Levy and freshman No. 5 Jon Katz were all able to secure victories for the Quakers.

"We were tired going into the match, and everyone put in a good effort," Repetto said. "We practiced hard all week leading up to the weekend; we just came up a little short in the end."

While the season will end for some of the Quakers with the conclusion of the Team Championships, three or possibly four members of the team will travel to Princeton, N.J., next weekend to compete in the NISRA Individual Championships.

Penn's top three players will all compete -- Richard Repetto, Sam Miller and Roberto Kriete. Levy is hoping to receive a late invitation to the Individual Championships on the merit of his play this past weekend.

"This coming weekend should be a good time," senior No. 3 Kriete said. "It will be a very exciting weekend with a lot of good matches and a lot of tough points."

Repetto mirrored Kriete's thoughts about the upcoming weekend.

"Everyone there is a good player," he said. "All of the matches will be tough, but I plan on kicking some ass."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.