PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men's squash team, #2 in the College Squash Association (CSA) rankings and back-to-back national runners-up, return to regular season competition this weekend with three matches in two days for the Pennsylvania State Championships.

Matches begin Saturday against the #16 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats and the Dickinson Devils at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively.

Previewing Penn/The Returners

Head coach Gilly Lane starts year seven at the helm with six players back from last year's team that won at least 10 matches including Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Molloy Cup champion Nathan Kueh who finished the year 19-2. 
 
Senior captains Dillon Huang and Saksham Choudhary, juniors Nick Spizzirri and Dana Santry, and sophomore Roger Baddour finished last season a ridiculous 73-13, with the captains going a combined 35-3.
 
Rounding out one of the deepest teams in the nation last season, Brian Cowhey, Shaam Gambhir, Tushar Shahani and Alexander Trauber all return after ending the year a combined 18-0.
 
Coach Lane: "We're all really excited to be back. Last year was a banner year for the program; we graduated some of the best players in the history of the program who are already making an impact in the professional ranks. We're excited about our prospects this year, competing against a number of teams who are looking to establish themselves among the elite in this sport, and I believe this will be the most evenly matched year in CSA history on the men's side."
 
"The boys have worked incredibly hard this Fall to prepare themselves for the season; we're looking forward to the PA State Championships to open the season, then we're right back at it against a really good Virginia team the following weekend. We're looking forward to defending our Ivy League championship and going one step further than we did last year."

The Newcomers

Hao Cui, Abdelrahman Dweek, Omar Hafez, Rehan Luthra, and Diego Narvaez will all compete with the returners for their place in the Starting IX.

Key Matches

Penn is slated to face every other team in the Top 13 of the pre-season CSA poll during the regular season, the first of those opponents will be #7 Drexel this Sunday. The Quakers head to Virginia the following weekend for a November 18 match with the #5 Cavaliers.
 
Coach Lane's squad will also face pre-season #11 Western Ontario, #10 Rochester and #13 Chatham before the end of the calendar year.

The Ivy League schedule commences on January 13 on the road at pre-season #8 Cornell. The Quakers do get Princeton, Yale and Trinity (Preseason #'s 3, 4, and 6) at home, but will face #1 Harvard on the road.
 
The CSA Men's Team Championships will take place from the campuses of Trinity and Wesleyan in Connecticut from February 24-26. The CSA Individual Championships will take place March 3-5 at the Arlen Specter Squash Center, right on 33rd Street just up the road from the Penn Squash Center.