By Pari Hashemi
Staff Writer
phashemi@sas.upenn.edu
Even this late in the season, nothing seems to be able to stop the men's squash team.
The Quakers defeated Franklin & Marshall, 7-2, this weekend without four of their top players - Gilly Lane, Lee Rosen, Mark Froot and Ben Ende. Competing without those four allowed the Red and Blue to reveal some new faces on the court.
"We didn't play our full strength today because F&M; are ranked at least 10 behind us," head coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "All of our top players didn't have to play today which let some of the other boys have time on the court."
Highlighting the day were the five-set matches played by freshman Chris Thompson and senior Rahil Shah. While squash matches usually end in three flights, both players pushed their competition beyond the breaking point and each won in their fifth flight.
Shah was down in the fourth game and then made a significant comeback to beat his competitor 9-1 in the fifth.
"We have a lot of strong competitors who are mentally really tough," senior Graham Bassett said of the team. "That is what makes our team unique. Everyone who plays for us is a fighter."
Spencer Kurn and Parker Justi fell short in their matches, losing at the top two spots. Though the top players were not victorious, that did not stop the rest of the team.
On the other side of the spectrum, Graham Bassett, Will Simonton, Brooks Russell, Robby Dickey and Pierce Cravens all captured wins of 3-0.
"We won the match and that was our goal going into it," said Thorpe-Clark. "Of course we wanted to come away with a win because F&M; are always a pretty solid team, and we played a different lineup than the original lineup to make it more of a challenge."
The victory over Yale a few weeks ago has allowed a new chapter to unravel in the Quakers' season. Penn defeated the Elis, allowing the Quakers to not only move up in the national rankings but allowing the team to approach their games against overmatched opponents with a new persepective.
"We have accomplished a lot, but with every goal you accomplish you open up a new door," Bassett said.
"Now that we have taken down Yale, we are a good enough team to be taken very seriously and take out the perennial top three," he added. "Luckily, our next matches are those teams."
A large part of the team's success is not only due to the coaching but also the new leadership. The captains, seniors Gilly Lane and Ben Ende, have been successful not only on the court as the No. 1 and 2 players on the team, but have also inspired the other players to compete to their potential.
"I think out of the four years I've been here, the leadership this year has been the best," said Bassett. "We are all inspired by how hard they work."
That inspiration will have to continue, because the going gets tougher in the near future. Next weekend the Quakers will compete against No. 1 Trinity in Hartford, Conn. A win there could move Penn up in the rankings, but Trinity has kept a stranglehold on top-dog status in college squash the past few years.
The Quakers will at least find out if there is indeed anything that can stop them.
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