Quakers prove why they're No. 1

By Brandon Moyse

Staff Writer

bmoyse@sas.upenn.edu

Going into Saturday's dual match against Williams, women's squash coach Jack Wyant felt the Quakers needed to be at their best to win and maintain their No. 1 ranking.

After all was said and done, Penn left no questions unanswered about its newly earned status as top dog by blanking the No. 8 Ephs 9-0.

Meanwhile, the men's team stayed the course with identical results, notching 9-0 triumphs over Amherst and Williams in a Saturday doubleheader.

The women (4-0, 2-0 Ivy) jumped three spots in the College Squash Association rankings published on Jan. 4 without playing a game. This was their first match since beating Brown over a month ago.

"I thought that we played well, given the long layoff between matches," Wyant said.

Although the scoreline was decisive, it didn't reflect Williams' (3-5) strength. The Ephs lost on Friday to Yale, the fourth top-five team they have played in five matches.

"If you look at the match at face value, you see 9-0," Wyant said. "But they're a much-improved team with a good group of freshmen," adding that Williams didn't graduate many players from their team that finished at No. 8 last year.

The men (5-0, 2-0 Ivy) found little resistance from the Lord Jeffs (3-3), winning seven of their matches 3-0. Joey Raho and Nick Malinowski settled for 3-1 wins at numbers seven and eight, respectively.

Williams (3-5), for its part, pushed several of Penn's players to the brink of defeat. Ben Ende, Parker Justi and Christopher Thompson all won narrow 3-2 decisions.

Some of the Quakers' rust and the Ephs' sharpness was evident on the women's side, as well. Seniors Paula Pearson and Radhika Ahluwalia, playing in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively, hit some minor bumps en route to 3-1 victories.

"I would've preferred that - all of the matches - we would have won in three games," Wyant said. "But Williams has some talent and they played well, so to drop some games wasn't a big deal."

Otherwise, it was smooth sailing for undefeated Penn. Kristen Lange and Sydney Scott, both freshman and playing in the top two slots, dispatched their opponents - freshman Toby Eyre and her sister, junior Ashley Eyre - in three games each.

Some may express doubt as to the legitimacy of Penn's top ranking, since the Quaker haven't actually played any matches to warrant being moved up.

Now, though, Penn has beaten a perennial contender in Yale and held off a dangerous Williams team.

"The most important thing is that we're gaining more match experience," Wyant said. "Hopefully that will help prepare us for the big ones coming up."

Penn has settled into the driver's seat in the race for the Ivy League championship. And even if the rest of the season doesn't pan out as hoped, there will still be plenty to build on for next year.

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