MONTREAL, Can. - The University of Pennsylvania women's squash team ventured to the Great White North, also known as Canada, to celebrate the New Year and shake the rust off before they take on their first duo of Ivy opponents, Yale and Brown, beginning January 13. The team wrote a blog of their experience in Montreal.
December 30, 2017 - Coach Jack Wyant
After a brief winter break, the team reconvened at Ringe for an early morning hit. Purpose was simple; knock off the holiday rust and get a workout in before our long journey north. Snow was falling as we walked from Ringe to 33rd Street which was just a preview of things to come. Led by our trusted driver Clayton we safely crossed the border and made it to Montreal in time for Turkish food for dinner!
New Year's Eve 2017 - Coach Jack Wyant
Club Sportif MAA Head Squash Professional Yvon Provencal organized a fantastic day of competition for us on the last day of 2017. While the weather outside was cold, very cold (-7F), the club members couldn't have been warmer. They taught us some French words and fed us famous Montreal bagels! Everyone got at least two matches--with
Clare Kearns winning the Ironwoman award--playing three times amassing a total of 14 games! Special thanks to head pro Yvon Provencal for hosting us!
Yelp! led us to the Japanese tapas restaurant Kinoya Izaka, exactly 460 steps from our hotel. When it's below zero one thinks about distances. We had a massive table and shared rounds and rounds of yummy food! It was pleasing to see the freshman class take charge of ordering for the table—definitely didn't defer!
Happy New Year from Penn Women's Squash!
January 1st, 2018 - Marie Stephan '18 & Clare Kearns '20
After a fun New Year's eve, the team braved the cold to get to the warm Hawaiian restaurant, surrounded by palm trees and beach landscapes (on the wall).
We then hiked up the famous Mount Royal. The proposal from Coach Jack was: hike to the top (in -4F degree weather) and Uber down. For those that don't know, vehicles aren't permitted on the mountain! The team was angered by this misinformation, but the views were amazing and the freshmen got their Instagram!!
After a quick siesta, we grabbed dinner at a Taiwanese restaurant. Pro tip: never sit next to Jack at an Asian restaurant, ask Melissa…
The team then went to a bowling alley, which turned out to be a different kind of bowling, with tiny balls and pins. Marie mopped the floor with everyone while Haley fell into the gutter. It was a fun squash-less day in Montreal, and we can't wait for the next adventure!
January 2, 2018 - Julia Buchholz '21 & Mikaela Salvesen-Quinn '19
Today we had an early start for our final morning in Montreal. We packed our suitcases, had breakfast in the hotel, and bid our farewell to the magnificent Le Meridian hotel. We traveled to the MAA sports club at 8:30 to train before our bus ride to Toronto. We had a fantastic hit and finished off our session with some killer suicide sprints on the adjacent basketball court. After a long winter break, the workout was needed.
Next up: locker room time. We managed to fit 10 people in a very small steam room. For a moment, we thought we were in the sticky heat of the Caribbean. After our session, we all showered and got ready for the long bus ride ahead. We trekked, for the final time, through the biting cold and wind chill to grab sandwiches and salads for the road. With Clayton at the wheel, we set off on a 7 hour bus trip to Toronto. I know what you're thinking: that is one long bus ride. Don't worry, we managed to have fun!
There were discussions on everything, from the bitcoin to squash drama. We made a cultural rest stop at a Tim Horton's to get a local taste of Canadian cuisine. Towards the end of the bus ride, Captain Melissa Calves awoke us from our deep bus ride slumbers for a team dance party! We even made sure to include Coach Jack by featuring his favorite artist, and life role model, Avicii.
Toronto received us warmly with welcoming 25F degree temperatures! We settled into our rooms and then went out for a fun dinner in the city. We had a great day and are looking forward to training hard tomorrow and then exploring Toronto and all it has to offer!
January 3, 2018 - Reeham Salah '19 & Haley Scott '21
Today was started with an early wake up at 9 a.m. in the beautiful city of Toronto despite some sickness. We headed downstairs to Shopsys where we indulged in a healthy breakfast before we made our way to the Toronto Athletic Club for some action-packed matches. While the beautiful views from the 36th floor were breathtaking, we quickly prepared for our matches. Everyone had at least one match which included different styles of play.
Once done we tidied up and walked back to the hotel where we made a quick turn-around and discovered the underground mall within the hotel. The girls went on a shopping spree and ended their time at the mall with some time at the food court with some diverse food options. After having full stomachs and happy smiles, they walked back to the hotel where they enjoyed a fun time watching some funny YouTube videos.
January 4, 2018 - Lauren Wolf '18 & Mikaela Simran Arora '19
We started the morning with a treadmill workout and a squash session (we're definitely going to feel it tomorrow). After a tough morning of training we had a pasta lunch that everyone was craving. The team then walked over to the CN tower, which is 550 meters tall! Did you know the tower is struck by lightening on average 75 times per year?
We got some great views of the city and of course, took a selfie at the top. We came back for a little rest and relaxation. To celebrate a fun night of hockey ahead we went out to a steakhouse and visited a local Leafs clothing store to hide our American identity. The game was incredibly exciting. After 3 intense periods, the game went to overtime and then a shootout in which the Leafs finally won! Marie even caught a shirt from the t-shirt toss!
After a jam packed day, we're all experts on the underground tunnels and are all excited for our trip to white oaks for a tournament tomorrow.
January 5, 2018 - Alexandra Sharpe '20 & Nicole Windreich '21
Today we left the beautiful city of Toronto and set out for White Oaks. Despite some early morning adversity, we finally made it to Niagara Falls! We all really enjoyed seeing The Falls from the Canadian side. It was so cold that part of it was frozen. Even with all of the mist from The Falls, we were still able to take many pictures with the breathtaking view in the background.
After our speedy visit, we then boarded the bus and headed back to settle in at the White Oaks Resort. From there, we checked into the Reggae Cup ( a reagge-themed squash tournament with Jamaican-themed t-shirts and reggae music playing in the background). We then began our first round of matches and cheered on our teammates with many first victories. We even made time to visit the outlet malls across the street in between.
We then enjoyed a nice dinner at "Play" as we waited for our final players to begin their matches in the men's A division. Even with start times late into the night, the entire team gathered around to cheer on our top players. We even got to meet a former Penn Squash player's brother, John Turner, whose sister Alicia Turner was a member of the Squash team during the early 2000s. As we finished off the long day with some final matches, we look forward to what's to come at the Reggae Cup.
January 6, 2018 - Lindsay Stanley '20 & Julia Buchholz '21
After an eventful trip, the team has reached the final day of the Reggae Cup! With matches starting a little later today (9 a.m.). Sharpie started the day off strong with a powerful win! The streak continued after senior
Lauren Wolf battled her opponent to win the Women's B draw. After Lauren's match, Haley destroyed her opponent to win the Women's A draw. It was incredible to watch my teammates play their hardest and give their all in every match.
Although we did not do a lot of sightseeing these past couple of days, we had a lot of fun playing this tournament. It was refreshing to see the passion and camaraderie that exists in squash. Everyone at the tournament welcomed us with open arms and encouraged us to have fun and play our best.
We met so many amazing people during this trip who graciously gave up their time to play with us. The competition was fierce and the wins were fantastic, but it was great for the team to play in an arena where we could see how strong the lifetime bond that squash is.
For example, in the last match of the day, our very own
Reeham Salah (also known as ree-ree or hammer) played Willie Hosey ( the 50+ world champ). We were all in the crowd to cheer on "Ree-Ree", and were amazed by the full crowd present just to spectate the high-level match.
Hammer pulled out the win and got a great workout in, after the match, she thanked Willie for playing and confessed, "I haven't moved like that in a while!" It was a great match and a great turnout.
After the match, the team boarded the bus to head back to Penn. Through this trip, we've learned a lot about each other, had some great training, and are closer together than ever. We are excited for the upcoming matches, and ready to take the season by storm!
Be sure to come out to our two home matches next weekend! We are playing Yale at 12 p.m. on Saturday and Brown at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Come rep The Red and Blue at Ringe!!
