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

Matches begin on Saturday against Chatham and Haverford at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, and then play begins at 1 p.m. Sunday as the Quakers host No. 5 Drexel in a Battle of 33rd Street at the Penn Squash Center.

How to Watch
Streams for this weekend can be found here: 
Chatham | 1:30 p.m.
Haverford | 5:00 p.m.
Drexel | 1:00 p.m.

Previewing Penn
Head coach Jack Wyant enters Year 19 at the helm of the Red and Blue; he led the Quakers to an 8-8 team record and a Kurtz Cup victory at the CSA Championships last season.

The Quakers ended their season last year with five women competing in the CSA Individual Championships, each capping off the year in their respective semifinal matches.

Coach Wyant: "Super excited about the upcoming season, we have a great mix of experience and youth. Our senior leadership is terrific, our captains are Penny Oh and Avni Anand. They have done a great job during the summer months preparing for the season leading up to now. We've been beneficiaries of some really talented freshmen, and as of today six of our top seven are freshmen and sophomores, so we're really excited about this year and the influx of new talent."

"As for Drexel, we have tremendous respect for their team, they are not even two years removed from being national finalists, so we are thrilled to have the opportunity to play against such an experienced and talented group, and its always fun to compete against the team that lives only a few blocks away. I suppose bragging rights for the city of Philadelphia are on the line, and they've gotten the better of us the last two years, so we're hoping that it's a competitive encounter on Sunday, if we're lucky enough to get there."  

The Returners
Seniors Penelope Oh and Avni Anand are this year's captains. Oh finished last season 8-7, which tied for second on the team in wins. Anand also served as a team captain last season and finished team competition 6-9, adding two victories during the CSA Individual Championships.

Other notable returners include sophomore Malak Taha, who made her presence known last year playing nine matches all at No.1, earning first-team CSA All-America, Ivy League Rookie of the Year and first-team All-Ivy honors. Junior Grace Lavin looks to pick up where she left off, as she finished the season 10-5 and led the team in victories. The Quakers welcome back junior Emma Carter, who started the season with four 3-0 wins and won both of her matches during the Kurtz Cup. Sophomore Natasha Pensler tied for second on the team in wins (7) and added a win at CSA Individuals last season. Sophomore Jana Dweek finished team competition 6-9 and added a win during CSA Individuals last year.

The Newcomers
The Quakers welcome five freshmen: Sohaila Ismail, Madeline Oh, Ashna Tumuluri, Franka Vidovic and Ishani Wadhwa. They will compete with the returners for a place in the starting IX.

Key Matches
Coach Wyant has November 17 circled on his calendar as the Quakers will take on #4 Stanford that day. Penn will also take on #6 Virginia and Georgetown next Saturday. The Quakers will battle Williams on December 3, before starting Ivy League play.

Ivy play begins in January with all members of the conference ranked in the Top 15 of the CSA preseason poll. The Quakers will welcome the Cornell Big Red on January 19 to start league play and will also see Dartmouth and Harvard at home. Penn will face Columbia, Yale and #3 Princeton on the road this season.

The CSA Women's Team Championships will take place at the Arlen Specter Squash Center on Drexel's campus, just up 33rd Street from the Penn Squash Center from February 29 to March 3. The CSA Individual Championships will run from March 8-10 to end the season.