Hunt for ‘ultimate prize’ at Howe Cup

As one of the most successful seasons in Penn women’s squash history nears its close, all eyes in the sport have fallen on the Quakers.

“I think we’ll have everyone’s full attention,” coach Jack Wyant said.

Today, the No. 3 Quakers (12-2, 5-2 Ivy) will head up to New Haven to take on No. 6 Cornell (12-5, 3-4) and to start off the Howe Cup.

Named in honor of Margaret Howe and her twin daughters — some of the most accomplished players in the sport’s history — the Howe Cup is intercollegiate women’s squash’s ultimate prize.

Penn will bring only 10 players from its 16-woman roster to New Haven to face the grueling challenge of playing three matches in three days. Even if the highly regarded Quakers lose in the winner’s bracket early, they’ll play for pride in the consolation ladder.

And for those seniors who do not qualify for the College Squash Association individual tournament in early March, the Howe Cup marks the end of the line for their college careers.

“Since this is my last big squash competition, I want to focus on really enjoying squash,” senior Rachael Goh said. “I usually do pretty well when I am enjoying myself on the court.”

There’s no atmosphere in women’s squash quite like that of the Howe Cup.

“It’s a lot of women, over 400 student athletes all in the same venue,” Wyant said. “There’s a good buzz about it … it’s the only time of the year that everyone’s together.”

The Quakers will need to be together this year if they want to emerge as champions. Last year, the Red and Blue fell to Trinity in the first round, 6-3, before rallying to beat Dartmouth and Cornell to win the consolation bracket.

Kicking off the tournament this year against the Big Red, a team they handily dismissed 7-2 just this past Sunday, the Quakers are brimming with positive feelings.

“We are approaching the tournament with excitement,” Goh said. “Especially with our losses to Harvard and Princeton. If all goes well we should be facing them, and we can settle some scores.”

The Tigers and the Crimson, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation, respectively, are the only two squads to have beaten Penn this season.

With a win over Cornell, Penn would likely get an opportunity to take a shot at revenge against Harvard on Saturday, as the Crimson are slated to face an overmatched Stanford squad today.

Still, the Quakers insist that they are focused on the task ahead and aren’t peeking ahead at the brackets.

“We just try to focus on each step at a time,” Wyant said. “As long as we don’t get caught up thinking about anything beyond our first round match, we should be fine.”

But that doesn’t mean that the Quakers won’t be looking to exact some justice for their previous defeats.

“I don’t think the teams ranked ahead of us will be intimidated,” Wyant said. “But I’d like to think we’ll call some attention [to ourselves].”

SEE ALSO

Women’s squash ends regular season strongly

Women’s squash preps for big Senior Day

Penn women’s squash scores weekend hat trick

Penn women’s squash broken by breaks

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.