M. Squash | Squash quadrumvirate: Part I

The season may be young, but the men's squash team is already facing the sport's heavy-hitters.

The Quakers travel to Brown (0-1, 0-1 Ivy) on Sunday, but are more concerned with Saturday's match against Yale. The Bulldogs are the first member of squash's elite quadrumvirate --- Trinity, Harvard and Princeton will come later - that Penn will play this season. However, the Quakers are walking in with heads high, fresh off a dominating win against Navy last night.

"We needed to go into the weekend's matches knowing we were playing well, having that little bit of confidence and that little spring in our step," coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "Rather than hoping we're going to play well, we know we're playing well."

And No. 7 Penn (2-1, 0-1) will need to play at the top of its game if it hopes to upset the No. 3 Bulldogs. Yale (0-0) nabbed second place at this year's Ivy Scrimmages and boasts two top-25 players. South African native Aaron Fuchs - ranked 17th nationally - heads the ladder, with No. 23 John Fulham close behind.

But the win over the Midshipmen isn't the only reason the Quakers approach Saturday's match confidently. Two years ago, in Penn's last regular season matchup in New Haven, Conn., the Red and Blue upset the Bulldogs, 6-3.

Junior Mark Froot and senior Andrew Zimmerman both picked up key wins at No. 3 and No. 8, respectively, in that match two years ago.

"Half the team was part of that so they know that it's possible and that we're capable of doing that," Thorpe-Clark said. "So if we look back and think about that, the last time we were there and we played them, we beat them, so we're looking to do the same again."

Now Penn's No. 1, Froot sees the Yale match as a way to make up for the team's 8-1 loss to No. 6 Cornell two weeks ago.

Almost as important are Penn's newcomers, who will meet the toughest opponent of their collegiate careers. Freshmen Thomas Mattsson and Trevor McGuinness have been playing at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, for the Quakers, and they will be counted on to make an impact against Yale.

"We have nothing to lose," Mattsson said. "They're ranked ahead of us, so we can go out there and surprise them."

The Bulldogs may be ripe for an upset, as the match on Sunday will be their season opener. While they will likely have a strong season, an early stumble is not out of the question. And nothing would be sweeter for the Red and Blue than to hand their conference rivals an early-season loss.

"I'd love to give them a loss at home," Froot said. "We did it two years ago and I'd love to do it again."

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