PHILADELPHIA – The No. 1 University of Pennsylvania men's squash team (9-1, 2-0 Ivy) returns to Ivy League action on Wednesday (5 p.m.) when it heads to Princeton to face the No. 8 Tigers (4-4, 1-1 Ivy). It is all Ivy League from here on out for the Quakers as they wrapped up non-conference play last weekend against No. 4 Trinity and Colby. Undefeated in the Ivy League this season, the Quakers will look to make their mark atop the conference with a third win on the road.
Previewing Penn
The Quakers will look to bounce back after suffering their first loss of the season last weekend against Trinity. Penn enjoyed an 8-0 start and rise to No. 1 in the College Squash Association rankings before a 6-3 loss to the Bantams on Saturday.
Wednesday will mark the Red and Blue's third Ivy League match of the season. The Quakers won at Yale for the first time since 2007 two weeks ago, and then followed it up with a win at Brown.
Penn will play its final five matches over the next 12 days. It all begins Wednesday at Princeton and then wraps up at Columbia on February 10.
Aly Abou Eleinen and
Karim Hussein remain the only undefeated players for the Quakers. Abou Eleinen and Hussein pulled out impressive 3-0 wins for Penn against Trinity last week. Abou Eleinen then played at number one against Colby and seized the opportunity with a 3-1 win.
After two straight losses to Rochester and St. Lawrence, sophomore
Andrew Douglas is riding a three match win streak. The sophomore earned a 3-1 win at the Quakers' top spot against Trinity.
Freshmen
James Flynn and
Michael Mehl lost their first matches of the season over the weekend. Flynn and Mehl played a large role in helping Penn to its first two Ivy League wins this season and will continue to do so as the team takes on Princeton.
Series Information
Record: Princeton leads, 83-14 | Last meeting: January 31, 2018 (Princeton, 5-4).
Wednesday's match will be the 98th meeting between the Quakers and Tigers. Princeton edged Penn in a close match, 5-4, last season at Ringe. The Quakers fought back from a 3-1 early deficit to tie the match at 3-3 with wins from
Max Reed and James Waters. However,
Yash Bhargava and Douglas fell in five games as Princeton clinched the match by taking a 5-3 lead.
Penn avenged its loss later in the season in the Potter Cup, winning 7-2. The Quakers will be going for their second straight win against the Tigers on Wednesday as well as their second straight win at Princeton. The Red and Blue defeated the Tigers on the road in head coach
Gilly Lane's C'07 first season, 6-3.
Princeton is 4-4 this season, but has won four of its last six. The Tigers' four losses have come to Virginia, Trinity, Rochester, and Yale.
