Though officially part of the Centennial Conference, the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats (4-3) have been the unofficial doormat of the Ivy League this year.
After opening the season with four wins over non-Ivy opponents, the Diplomats enter tonight's match at Penn (1-3, 1-2 Ivy) having lost their last three matches to Dartmouth, Yale and Princeton by a combined score of 25-2. In those three meets, 18 of the Diplomats' 27 individual matches ended in 3-0 Ivy sweeps.
"We should win this match decisively," co-captain Ryan Rayfield said.
Co-captain Lee Rosen agreed.
"We are definitely superior in our lineup," he said. "Still, we need to show up and stay focused."
The Diplomats have also lost to Penn in each of the past three seasons.
The Quakers, meanwhile, enter the match coming off an impressive weekend that included a tight 5-4 loss to Yale and a 9-0 drubbing of Brown.
"We've seen that when we hit our stride, we're a pretty formidable team," coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said.
The team's 1-3 record doesn't seem to be dampening any spirits around Ringe.
"We're hungry," Rosen said. "We've had two very close losses in winnable matches."
Rayfield added, "We have to keep that confidence level high."
And though the team has struggled, many players who are havingvv great seasons.
No. 1 Rosen is 3-1 on the year and 2-1 in League play, whereas the Diplomats' No. 1 player has lost 3-0 in each of Franklin & Marshall's Ivy matches.
Andrew Zimmerman is also 3-1, while No. 3 Spencer Kurn and No. 4 James Clark are both 2-0 after missing the season-opening doubleheader.
"Lee had a terrific weekend," Thorpe-Clark said. "James Clark has done very well as a freshman. All the freshman are doing well."
Usual starters Zimmerman, Joey Raho and Mark Froot will not be playing in the top nine tonight, as Thorpe-Clarke chose to give them some rest.
"This is a chance to change the lineup a little bit," he said. "It should be a good match for some of the underclassmen who don't really get to play,"
Though the Diplomats appear to be the underdogs, Penn looks to stay focused in its final match before winter break.
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