For a team still struggling to find momentum, the Penn men’s squash team took a step backwards Saturday, losing to Yale, 9-0.
But yesterday the Quakers took two steps forward, defeating Brown 6-3 at Ringe Courts.
No. 7 Penn (2-3, 1-2 Ivy) looked to ride the wave of an 8-1 win against Franklin & Marshall last Wednesday into a challenging weekend against the No. 4 Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 Ivy) and the No. 13 Bears (0-3, 0-3). Yale went 3-0 at the Ivy League scrimmages at the beginning of the season, beating Dartmouth, Brown and defending conference champion Princeton.
“Yale is a very good team — full credit to them,” coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. “I was happy with the way we challenged them. I was happy with the way the boys played.”
The 9-0 sweep did not reflect the close scores of some of the matches. Penn lost three matches 3-2 and two matches 3-1.
Letdowns such as Saturday might demoralize some teams, but the Quakers bounced back yesterday to bring themselves within a game of .500.
“When you put everything out on the line sometimes the thought of getting back up can be tough,” Thorpe-Clark said. “Even if you win it can be tough. We got the win. The guys at the top of the lineup played well. They coped with being tired and sore. We got a good win. I’m pleased with that.”
Thorpe-Clark added that he tried his best to motivate his players to pick their heads up after a disappointing loss.
“We were up early this morning,” Thorpe-Clark said yesterday. “I was very vocal with them, getting them revved up and running around before the match.”
The attempt certainly helped, as the much-improved score reflects. It affected the top of the ladder particularly, as the top six flights all won their matches. A highlight of the victory was freshman No. 2 Dan Greenberg’s first win of his collegiate career.
Sophomore Trevor McGuinness believes that a large part of the success yesterday was a night of mental and physical downtime between Yale and Brown. With time to recharge their batteries, the Quakers came out focused and ready to prove that the day before was a minor setback for this talented team.
“I think we all got some rest after the match yesterday and we were all kind of inspired to have a good comeback after yesterday,” McGuiness said. “I think we closed it out pretty well too. We are right up there with them.”
At the end of the day, the Quakers’ win yesterday should provide much-needed momentum going into their winter break. They next play Jan. 13.
“We got the win,” Thorpe-Clark said. “The guys at the top of the lineup played well. They coped with being tired and sore. We got a good win.”
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