Junior David Yacobucci, after suffering Penn men's squash's only loss against Drexel, will look to rebound in the weekend's upcoming matches.
After getting ahead, the next step is to stay ahead.
After winning its first two competitions handily, Penn men’s squash will take on its highest ranked opponent of the season to this point when it plays No. 9 George Washington this Saturday. The following day, the Quakers, who are No. 6 in the country, will face No. 13 Virginia. Both of these games will be played at Drexel’s Kline and Specter Squash Center at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
After away wins over Franklin & Marshall and Drexel last weekend, the Red and Blue open at “home” for the first time this weekend. While Penn’s courts are being renovated, it will continue to play at Drexel’s facilities.
George Washington (2-1) is currently at its highest ranking in program history, and a win over the Quakers would show that the Colonials are deserving of their top-10 rank.
Penn will look to its top contenders, sophomore Andrew Douglas, junior David Yacobucci, and freshman Aly Abou Eleinen, to take on the top three for George Washington, who are likely to be senior Moudy Abdel-Maksoud and sophomores Salim Khan and Mohammad Alterki.
Three of Penn’s freshmen, Eleinen, Michael Mehl, and James Flynn, will try to maintain their undefeated college careers this weekend. All three went 2-0 last weekend, with Eleinen and Flynn not dropping a single game.
Last year, the Quakers defeated both George Washington and Virginia 9-0. Penn has not conceded a match to Virginia in the two past meetings.
The Cavaliers (2-1) will look to defeat their second Ivy opponent of the season, as they took down No. 8 Princeton last week.
Also undefeated, Penn women’s squash will first meet Stanford at home on Friday. The Penn women’s team is also on a two-game win streak, beating Franklin & Marshall 8-1 and Drexel 5-4 last weekend.
Senior Reeham Sedky, junior Jessica Davis, and freshman Jamila Tamer are Penn’s top three players. The match against Stanford (0-0) will be a test for Penn (2-0), as the Cardinal are ranked fourth in the nation, two spots above Penn. Stanford, however, has not yet been battle-tested, as the match against Penn will be its first of the year and one of its four fall competitions. Sedky will likely face Stanford’s top-gun, sophomore Caroline Neave. Neave finished her season 15-2, compared to the U.S. Squash Athlete of the Year Sedky, who went 20-0.
A quick turnaround will bring the Quakers face-to-face with George Washington, ranked No. 14 nationally, on Sunday.
Both the men’s and women’s teams hope to continue their strong opening to the season by each taking home a pair of wins this weekend.
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