PHILADELPHIA - Both the University of Pennsylvania's men's and women's squash teams will face what might be their toughest challenge of the season on Saturday as they travel to Connecticut to take on top ranked Trinity which boasts the No. 1 men's team and No. 2 women's team. After a busy weekend last week in which the men played three matches in five days and the women played a weekend Ivy League double header, following the Trinity match, both teams will get a much needed 10 day break.
Previewing the Men
The men are off to their best start since the 1985-86 season in which they started 10-0 and finished 10-2. Playing three matches in five days last week that included playing No. 6 Rochester and No 8 Yale, capped off by a 9-0 sweep of Brown, the Quakers went 3-0. Freshman
Andrew Douglas pushed The Red and Blue to victory in his dramatic comeback in which he was down 2-0 and faced three match points and Junior
Karim Hussein clinched the win against Yale, also in the final match.
Penn was battle-tested last week and came out with an unblemished 3-0 record. They've won their last four, but Trinity provides a new challenge however. The Quakers' only loss this season came to No. 3 St. Lawrence. Trinity comes in ranked No. 1. The men have lost each of the last five matches to Trinity including back to back 8-1 losses the last two years.
The Bantams will come in at 5-0 with wins over Williams, and Drexel, both of which are also teams that the Quakers have played and beaten.
Previewing the Women
While splitting their last four matches, the women still sit at 5-2 and rank fifth in the College Squash Association rankings. After losing in heartbreaking 5-4 fashion to Yale last Saturday, the Quakers bounced back with a decisive 9-0 sweep of Brown. Lead at the top of the line-up by
Reeham Salah,
Marie Stephan, and
Melissa Alves the Red and Blue will be looking to get a repeat of last season's 5-4 win over Trinity.
The Red and Blue are young with six underclassmen having significant playing time in the line-up. With each start, they get valuable experience. Saturday will be their biggest test yet and with a win, it will be their third in a row over one of the other top squash programs in the nation.
The Bantam women boast a 6-1 record this season which includes wins over Williams and Drexel which are two teams that the Quakers have also beaten this season.
What's Next
The Quakers will get a much needed 10 days off before their next match. It will be all Ivy League matches after this weekend and it all starts January 31 at The Ringe against Princeton.
