Emily Goodwin extends her arm straight back at a high angle, the ball bounces in front of her, she bends her knees and accelerates her racquet head through the rising ball. While this stroke is routine on a squash court, it's especially sweet for the Penn senior and co-captain.
Goodwin has been out with a back injury since the beginning of the season and has yet to make her 2008-09 debut.
That will change this weekend when No. 2 Penn (3-0, 1-0 Ivy) travels to No. 5 Yale (0-0) on Saturday and No. 10 Brown (0-1, 0-1) on Sunday.
"I'm really excited to play. This is our biggest match of the year so far," Goodwin said of the Yale matchup.
The addition of the New York native will strengthen an already elite Penn team that is riding a nine-game Ivy League regular-season winning streak dating back to the 2006-07 season.
When Penn travels to New Haven, Conn., the Bulldogs will face their first opponent of the season. The Ancient Eight foes squared off at the annual Ivy scrimmage nearly a month ago, with Penn prevailing 5-4.
Although the Quakers have won the last three meetings against Yale, this year's match will be their first real test in the Ivy League.
"It's a pretty big match," senior co-captain Alisha Turner said. "We're always competitive with them."
The Bulldogs graduated Miranda Ranieri, the No. 1 player in the nation last season, so the Red and Blue would seem to have the advantage again this season.
With Ranieri's departure, Penn junior Kristin Lange is the nation's new No. 1.
Yale still figures to be Penn's toughest challenge of the weekend. Brown, which has not had a winning season since 2004-05, ranks seventh in the Ivy League despite its high national ranking and has already been trounced by No. 4 Harvard, 9-0.
Both matches will give the healthy Penn squad a chance to work out the cobwebs after some rest and relaxation over Thanksgiving break.
"This week has been good," Turner said. "We are not sore and we're ready to go on Saturday."
This time of the year, a road trip presents a unique challenge. With finals beginning next week, the players will have to forgo watching movies on the team bus to study.
"Academics are our first priority," coach Jack Wyant said. "We need to be very efficient with our time."
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