M. Squash routed by Ivy League rivals

This past weekend served up some difficult competition for the Penn men's squash team.

The Quakers closed out regular season Ivy League action in disappointing fashion -- with losses to both Harvard and Dartmouth.

Penn's first match of the weekend was against the Crimson, the No. 2 team in the country.

The Quakers struggled during the match and eventually lost, 8-1, as Penn No. 1 Richard Repetto managed the only Penn victory of the contest.

"Rich played really well against Harvard's No. 1. He dominated him from the beginning," junior co-captain Elan Levy said.

"We [the team] knew we were going to be playing from behind going into the match. We lost, but we played pretty well."

After taking on the Crimson, Penn traveled north to Hanover, N.H., to face the Big Green.

A win against Dartmouth would have offered the Quakers one last chance to break into the top-8 and secure a spot in the First Division of the upcoming Intercollegiate Squash Association Championships.

After a bit of a slow start, the Quakers faltered and fell to Dartmouth, 8-1.

"Dartmouth was a match we needed to win, but we came up short," Repetto said. "We didn't feel that we played up to our full capabilities."

Repetto lost a surprising match, 3-1. He held an 8-4 game point lead in two games but could not find a way to win.

Levy pulled out the only victory for the Quakers against Dartmouth. He captured a grueling five-game match at the No. 5 position.

"The Dartmouth match was the best I've played all season," Levy said. "It's nice to play that well at the end of the year right before team champs."

As Penn is now slated to compete in the Second Division, the Quakers will be looking to win and secure a No. 9 national ranking at the conclusion of the season.

Before the Quakers compete in the ISA Championships, they will have a tune-up match on Feb. 18 against Haverford.

The Red and Blue will also compete in the team championships at Harvard the weekend of Feb. 23-24.

Penn understands the critical nature of the next two weeks.

"The next week and a half are important for us," Levy said. "We have to remain focused and make sure we peak for the upcoming team champs."

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