Penn women's squash takes aim at perfect Princeton

It’s not hard to find perfection on the Penn women’s squash team, even if there’s a blemish on its record.

Perfect is the 7-0 record of junior Chloe Blacker this season, an impressive mark that has helped the Red and Blue (7-1, 2-1 Ivy) secure a No. 4 ranking in the latest CSA poll.

Perfect is also the No. 1 ranked women’s squash team from Princeton, the lone unbeaten team in the country.

And perfect is what the Quakers will need to be on Wednesday night, as they try to knock off the rival Tigers (5-0, 2-0) in New Jersey.

Penn enters the contest against Princeton coming off a significant victory against then-No. 4 Trinity on Jan. 19.

“I think the win against Trinity was a really big confidence booster for us,” senior Pia Trikha said.

“Everyone this past week has been really excited to train and get better.”

Since taking down the Bantams ten days ago, the Quakers have been preparing for what coach Jack Wyant says is “the biggest week of the regular season.”

“We’ve been training very hard since the Trinity match,” Wyant said. “I think, if anything, we’re fitter than when we played against Harvard and when we played against Trinity.”

Both Wyant and his players have found the win to be beneficial in a unique way.

“I think [beating Trinity] was a tremendous confidence boost for the women,” Wyant said. “I think also for team chemistry it was a really special moment.”

“I haven’t seen this group support each other like they did against Trinity.”

While spirits are high, it is clear that the team has not lost sight of its mission heading into its matchup with the Tigers.

“We’re trying not to think about the match too much in terms of psyching ourselves out,” Trikha, one of the tri-captains on the team, said. “We obviously know what they’re ranked and that’s definitely on our minds, but we’re not really focusing on their team, just on what we can do.”

Historically, the Tigers have dominated the Red and Blue, leading the head-to-head series, 41-7.

The Quakers, however, have won three out of the last four times they’ve met Princeton.

Led by freshman Rachel Leizman and junior Alex Sawin, the Tigers eked out a momentous win in their last match against Harvard. On Jan. 13, Princeton took down the defending national champions, 5-4.

Wyant knows a repeat of last year’s 6-3 victory won’t come nearly as easily this time.

“Our team rates Princeton very highly,” Wyant said. “Our approach is that every time we get an opportunity to play against them, we have to play our best if we want to win.”

For the Quakers, they will need to play as close to perfect as possible in order to knock off their biggest rival.

And in this matchup. Wyant knows exactly what that would mean in the long run.

“We’d like to go out, play well, and welcome [Princeton] to the imperfect column.”

SEE ALSO

Squash player Colleen Fehm is an all-around athlete

Penn women’s squash wins with mental toughness

Brief | No. 5 women’s squash hosts No. 4 Trinity

Penn women’s squash splits weekend slate

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.