Quakers bounce back with blowout

The Penn men’s squash team is back on track.

After a close loss to Williams last Friday, the Quakers reverted back to their winning ways, resoundingly defeating Navy at the Ringe Squash Courts, 8-1.

It’s been a tough start to the season for the Quakers (3-2) so far. After following up a dangerously close 6-3 victory over Drexel with a 5-4 loss to the Ephs, the Red and Blue knew that anything less than a convincing victory against the Midshipmen (18-3), a team they have swept six times in the past nine years, would be insufficient.

For coach Jack Wyant, the win was emblematic of the team’s strategy this season.

“I think what it proves is that the boys are fighting. They know that this team could be [5-0],” Wyant said. “I would rather us be 3-2 playing the right way and trying to improve day in, day out than being a false [5-0], which we could easily have been.”

With Ivy League competition fast approaching as the team breaks for the winter, Wyant and his men are taking a long-term approach to things.

“I feel like it’s a positive experience for us,” Wyant said. “This will reinforce in the boys’ minds that what we’re working on in practice is contributing to points on the board and wins overall.

“We’re trying to change the way we play a little bit in anticipation of the Harvard match and the Dartmouth match, but it’s a process and we’re working on it.”

The Quakers are a young team, with a trio of freshmen in the top nine.

All three won their respective matches, with No. 5 Liam Quinn sweeping his opponent, 3-0. This was Quinn’s third win in a row, having worked his way up to the No. 5 spot.

Wyant believes he can go far.

“Liam’s done fantastic,” Wyant said. “If Liam decides that squash alongside academics is going to be his number one priority he is going to be a fantastic player.”

The freshmen were not the only ones chalking up victories.

Senior No. 1 player Danny Greenberg won his match 3-1, against a familiar foe.

Though McGuinness’s brother, Trevor, was Penn’s squash captain last year, that didn’t matter to Greenberg.

“Trevor was a great player, he played No. 3 last year and his brother was a solid player as well,” Greenberg said. “But I just want to go out there and get a win regardless of the opponent.”

In spite of this, Greenberg admitted the team received some words of encouragement from its former captain.

“We actually got an email from Trevor to our team wishing us luck, which was a little spur I suppose,” he said.

With a month off until Ivy play, the team enters the break brimming with confidence.

“I think we can do some damage in Ivy play,” Quinn said “Both Harvard and Dartmouth are obviously very good teams, but I really think we can get something from them”.

If the Red and Blue can turn in more performances in league play like what they did against the Midshipmen Thursday, the sky’s the limit.

SEE ALSO

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Penn squash faces different kind of challenge

Depth key against Williams for Penn squash

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