Women's squash preps for big Senior Day

On paper, it appears as if the Penn women’s squash team has a typical Ivy weekend coming up on the docket.

In reality, though, the Quakers’ (10-2, 3-2 Ivy) matchups against Cornell and Columbia couldn’t have more different tones.

Friday, the No. 3 Quakers will attempt to continue their dominance over Ivy League foes when they travel to the Big Apple to face the No. 12 Lions (3-8, 0-5). The two teams have played only once, with Penn sweeping Columbia at the Ringe Courts, 9-0, last season.

This will be the first time that the Red and Blue will face the developing Lions on the road in the program’s history.

After their match on Friday, the Quakers will return home to Philadelphia to battle No. 6 Cornell (11-3, 3-2) on Sunday.

Facing another top-10 opponent, Penn is looking for a repeat of last year’s performance against the Big Red.

Last year, Penn took down then-No. 7 Cornell, 7-2.

Though the Red and Blue are well ahead of both squads in the national rankings heading into the weekend, coach Jack Wyant said the Big Red are going to be an even bigger challenge this year.

“This could be the best team Cornell has had in my time coaching at Penn,” Wyant said.

The Quakers have beaten every non-Ivy League opponent they’ve faced. Their wins against Trinity and Stanford were the only non-conference matchups that didn’t end in a clean sweep.

Penn will be celebrating its Senior Day on Sunday. While the Red and Blue may be losing some key members following the season, Wyant said there are plenty of freshmen — such as Camille Lanier and Haidi Lala — ready to fill the void.

“This is the last home match for five seniors,” Wyant said. “I think this will ensure the team’s focus.”

The strategy for this weekend’s matches is nothing out of the ordinary on the court, but recent practices have been slightly altered in preparation.

“We will rest a little bit so that we will have a lot of energy,” Wyant said.

Wyant hopes the squad will show more strength on the court after an easier week of practice.

However, the match this weekend is not the only big competition coming up for the Quakers — the Howe Cup, the National Team Championships, begins Feb. 15.

“The Howe Cup matches are the most important ones all year,” Wyant said. “But we won’t start thinking about that until after this weekend.”

Though the tournament looms in the near-future, the Quakers are keeping their eyes set on this coming weekend and Senior Day.

“There’s not much we can do to get better at this point in the season.” Wyant said. “We can just get some rest, and get excited.”

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