PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's squash team, #9 in the pre-season College Squash Association (CSA) rankings, return to regular season competition this weekend with three matches in two days for the Pennsylvania State Championships.

Matches begin Saturday against the #23 Chatham Cougars and the Dickinson Devils at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., respectively.

Previewing Penn/The Returners

Head coach Jack Wyant enters year 18 at the helm of the program with just three seniors and eight freshmen or sophomores on the roster. Among the notable returners from last year's team are the senior trio of Ashley Manning, Navmi Sharma, and Eujung Park, who finished 2021-22 a combined 23-17, as well as the junior duo of Penelope Oh and Avni Anand and the sophomore duo of Grace Lavin and Emma Wolf, who finished last year a combined 35-22.
 
The women qualified for a 19^th consecutive Howe Cup in 2021-22, following a regular season ending with a record of 8-7, a victory over then-#8 Cornell in the regular season finale propelling the Quakers into the Top 8.
 
Coach Wyant: "This is a challenging schedule this season, but it's going to be a blast. We play all of the best teams in the country, we're playing a lot of matches on the road, but the girls are working hard, and I'm excited to see what they're going to do against those programs."
 
"Based on where we're ranked and who we play, on any given day, from the 4^th or 5^th-ranked team down to the 11^th or 12^th-ranked team, there will be matches where a few points could mean the difference between winning and losing. Everything is in front of us, and we can't wait to get things going once again."

The Newcomers

Jana Dweek, Natasha Pensler, and Malak Taha will compete with the returners for their place in the Starting IX.

Key Matches

Penn is slated to face every other team in the Top 12 of the pre-season CSA poll during the regular season. The first of the Top 12 opponents will be #3 Drexel this coming Sunday with #8 Virginia, #11 Stanford and #12 Tufts to follow before the end of the calendar year.
 
The Ivy League schedule commences on January 13 on the road at pre-season #7 Cornell with a home match against pre-season #4 Columbia two days later.
 
The Quakers will host the CSA Women's Team Championships at the Penn Squash Center from February 17-19. 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 PSC.