Quakers take two of three

In the heart of a city known nationally for its squash history, the Penn men's squash team headed to Yale last weekend looking to make a name for itself among its more well-known Ivy brethren.

The Quakers did just that, beating Dartmouth, thrashing Brown and losing to No. 3 Harvard.

"I think Brown and Dartmouth are a little scared because we beat them pretty badly," senior captain Sam Miller said. The Crimson are "perennially one of the strongest teams.

"We didn't have any expectations going in against them."

The weekend could have potentially been a downer, after Penn was dismantled by Harvard, 8-1, in its first match. Yet, the Quakers showed resiliency striking back and trouncing Dartmouth, 7-2.

It was the first time in Thorpe-Clarke's coaching tenure that the Quakers had beaten the Big Green.

Beating Dartmouth "was a big win for us," Miller said.

"It was a testament to how fit [the Quakers are], and to how hard they've been working," Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clarke said.

Penn also took something special away from its second win of the weekend. By defeating Brown, 8-1, Quakers' senior Elan Levy was able to defeat a team that has given the Quakers fits in the past.

"It's always been a real close match, it's always been 5-4," Levy said about the Bears.

"It was nice this year to be able to walk away with an 8-1 win," he said.

All three matches were played on a frenetic Saturday, during which the Quakers spent nearly 12 hours at the Bradley Squash Center in New Haven, Conn.

"That's quite a lot of squash," Thorpe-Clarke said. "The normal is to play two matches a day; to play three is pretty tough," he said.

Penn's success last weekend was due largely to the strong play of its new recruits.

"Each year the pool of players [and] the depth keeps getting better -- the experience is higher," Thorpe-Clarke said.

He specifically highlighted the play of Penn freshmen Jacob Himmelrich and Colby Emerson, and sophomore transfer Eric Bardiwall.

"We've improved a lot, the guys have worked hard, and I think we're going to have a good year," Thorpe-Clarke said.

Levy was also quick to praise the Red and Blue's youth movement.

"It makes me feel like I want to be a freshman all over again," he said, comparing himself and fellow senior Miller to "babysitters."

Up next for the Quakers is Cornell on Nov. 23 at Penn's Ringe Squash Courts. The Big Red will be the Quakers' first home match of the season.

"They are seeded ahead of us," Miller said, "but everyone feels that we can pull off an upset."

Coach Thorpe-Clarke agrees.

"At the end of the day, I think it's going to be a very close match," Thorpe-Clarke said.

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