This weekend is going to be a big one for the Penn women's squash team (2-0, 1-0) both in terms of the quality of opponents and quantity of games in their busy weekend.
On Saturday, the Quakers will take on Amherst and Yale in New Haven, followed by a Sunday match against Brown.
"Yale has the best team in the Ivy League," Penn coach James Martel said, "They have the most depth and the most experience and they have a solid team. That will be a big challenge for us."
Freshman player Tyler Pearce, who is also a writer for the Daily Pennsylvanian, echoed Martel's sentiments.
"Our match against Yale is pretty much our biggest match of the year," Pearce said. "We're excited, but we're also really focused, because we know it's going to be a really tough match."
As for Amherst and Brown, the Quakers aren't worried. The Quakers beat the Amherst Lady Jeffs last season, 6-3, and in pre-season scrimmages, the Red and Blue soundly defeated the Brown, 8-1.
The Bears are currently ranked eighth in the Ivy League, the only school ranked lower than Penn in the Ancient Eight. Amherst is ranked 11th in the nation.
"We like to think we have a pretty good chance [against Amherst and Brown]," Martel said, "But scrimmages are not always a good indication of later matches."
The Quakers are hoping that this is the case and that their preseason loss to Yale in mid-November won't affect their performance against the Elis in Saturday's match. In a preseason scrimmage, the Quakers fell to No. 1 nationally- ranked Yale, 6-3.
"Hopefully they've grown and learned from that experience," Martel said. "I'd like to think that each match the kids are improving and gaining valuable experience."
In preparation for this weekend's matches, the Quakers have been training hard and working to stay focused.
"We're trying to increase skill development by working hard in practice and also by critiquing our match play," Martel said.
"We've had a lot of tough practices," Pearce added. Martel "really wants us to get serious."
Captains Runa Reta and Dafna Wegner have also been sources of support and encouragement for the Quakers.
"They know what it takes to win," Pearce said. "When they step it up, we step it up. They demand a lot from us. They know that with all the freshmen, we have a lot of potential and so they're encouraging us to stay focused."
This weekend, the Quakers are focused on winning against Ivy rival Yale in particular because of the team's national status. But that is not to say they have cause to take an Ivy win against Brown for granted.
The Quakers have had a successful campaign so far this season, already improving upon last season's record, which included no League wins, and losses to every Ivy League opponent.
The Quakers won their first match of the season against Cornell, sweeping the Big Red, 9-0, and also recorded a 9-0 win over Haverford.
"The girls have worked really hard," Martel said, "I'm looking forward to seeing how they react and compete this weekend. [The result] should be a pretty good indication of how we stack up in the Ivy League."
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