Penn men's squash can’t escape Princeton’s grasp

For Penn men’s squash, the trip home down I-95 wasn’t the only thing that went south Wednesday night.

Penn (3-7, 0-3 Ivy) left Princeton empty-handed as the No. 12 Quakers fell 9-0 to the No. 1 Tigers, dropping its fifth straight match. This is the seventh straight time that Penn has failed to win an individual match against Princeton.

It didn’t take long for the result of the match to be decided.

After the first rotation, the team score was already 4-0 in favor of Princeton. The Tigers clinched the victory one match later after Princeton freshman Michael LeBlanc defeated Penn junior Justin Ang, who played his first Ivy League game Wednesday since returning from abroad.

“I think that they fought hard, but Princeton was too good,” coach Jack Wyant said.

The Quakers had a lot of motivation for defeating the Tigers. Wyant was hungry for the upset against his alma mater, for which he was a three-time All-American and 1993 Ivy Rookie of the Year.

Sophomore Jack Maine hoped to defeat the same school his parents attended and that he grew up cheering for.

Even junior Robert Greco, who played in the exhibition match, had a chance to defeat his former high school teammate and co-captain, Princeton junior Ash Egan.

But the Tigers’ talent was simply too overwhelming.

The loss marks the thid time this year that the team has lost every match in straight games, both against top-10 teams.

“They are in a tough stretch,” Wyant said. “They are competing against the best teams in the country. But I’m proud that they are handling themselves with class, fighting for every rally and working hard to try and improve each and every day.”

The Quakers will be looking to pick up their first win of 2013 on Saturday against No. 18 Brown (6-5, 0-2). While Brown does have a better record, Penn has the advantage historically. The Bears have never defeated the Quakers in 23 regular season matches dating all the way back to the 1985-86 season.

“I want them to basically to go out there and to compete, Wyant said. “I want them to continue to work on the things we have been focusing on in practice like attacking and taking the ball early. I think if they do that they can have success against a team like Brown.

“I think the boys have a overall positive attitude but we have to maintain that positive outlook and take that into the weekend and in our match Saturday.”

After traveling to Providence, the Red and Blue will finish out the weekend in New Haven against No. 4 Yale on Sunday.

SEE ALSO

Biggest test of the season for Penn men’s squash

Penn men’s squash falls to undefeated Trinity

Trinity looms large in next test for Penn men’s squash

Penn men’s squash’s international gap

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