M. Squash gameplan: Optimism, or prayer?

With top-ranked Trinity (7-0) coming to town tonight, the men's squash team finds itself adding new elements to its practice regimen.

Contemplating how Penn (5-3) could defeat the Bantams - college squash's premier team for the past decade - one Penn player offered a simple response: "Pray."

Perhaps faith in some higher power is the only way to beat the Bantams, winners of 165 straight matches and owners of the nation's longest collegiate winning streak in any sport. They haven't lost since 1998 and have dropped just one individual match in their seven outings this season.

In its toughest test of the season, Penn will look to defeat the 10-time defending champions at 7 p.m. tonight at Ringe Courts.

Penn enters the match on a winning streak of its own -though not quite as impressive. It's won five straight and is over .500 for the first time all season.

"We come to every match with same optimistic outlook that whoever we play is in trouble," Quakers coach Craig Thorpe-Clarke said.

"This is an incredible opportunity," co-captain Ryan Rayfield said. A win would be "an incredible accomplishment."

Thorpe-Clark looks for his team to be fired up for what should be the season's marquee match.

"This is a tough part of the season," Thorpe-Clark said, "but it's also the best part. We're being tested, and as an athlete, that is what's important."

The Penn women's team faces a strong Trinity this weekend too, playing in Hartford, Conn. on Saturday at noon.

Penn is favored to win this battle, especially after Trinity's 6-3 loss to Yale (whom Penn defeated 7-2 earlier in the season) on Wednesday.

In that match, Trinity's top three players, all ranked in the College Squash Association's individual top 10, lost. The top two lost 3-0.

"This is a huge match for them," Penn's Lauralynn Drury said.

Penn has seven players in the Collegiate Squash Association's top 30, and captain Elizabeth Kern believes that this depth will be the deciding factor.

"It's going to be pretty tough at the top," Drury agreed, "but whether you're No. 1 or 9, your matches count the same."

The Quakers are a perfect 4-0 on the road this season.

"Sometimes we play our best on the road," Penn coach Jack Wyant said. "It can be nice to get away from campus."

The team will travel to Trinity on Friday night and will eat dinner with a local Penn parent.

"That's one of the best parts of this team," Kern said. "Our family and friends support [us] everywhere we go."

Only one team (Yale) has won more than one individual match against Penn this year.

And with the pivotal Princeton match only five days away, the Quakers will try not to overlook a Trinity team that entered the season ranked fifth.

"We know that Trinity is a strong team," Kern said. "but we have faith."

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