Penn women's squash clinches Ivy title

Some victories are just a little bit sweeter than others.

For the women’s squash team, Sunday’s 9-0 sweep of Columbia was more than just a win; it was the win that capped off a perfect conference season and clinched Penn’s first Ivy League title in seven years.

Heading into the weekend, only Cornell and Columbia (7-7, 2-4 Ivy) stood between Penn and a spot atop the Ancient Eight. But neither the Big Red nor the Lions could put a damper on the Quakers’ winning ways.

With a four-game winning streak in tow, Penn conquered the Big Red (8-5, 3-4 Ivy) at home on Friday with an 8-1 decision. Next, the Quakers headed north to Manhattan, wrapping up an undefeated Ivy season against Columbia.

Although the Quakers were not officially named Ivy champions until Sunday night, according to coach Jack Wyant, the fate of the Ancient Eight crown was decided almost an entire month ago.

“We really clinched the championship the moment we came back from a 4-3 deficit to beat Harvard [on Jan. 11],” Wyant said of the Quakers 5-4 victory over the then-No. 1-ranked Crimson.

“They were the top dogs, and we were just starting from their position,” Wyant said. “Ever since that moment, ever since that win, we have been the hunted rather than the hunters.”

Indeed, the No. 2-ranked Red and Blue were the favorites in every single one of their conference matchups following their upset of Harvard.

But rankings are just numbers, for they do not speak to the obstacles the team overcame on its way to a 7-0 conference record. Just take Jan. 28’s win over Princeton the day after the passing of Wyant’s college coach, Princeton’s famed Bob Callahan.

“We’ve had moments of brilliance and moments when we weren’t quite at our best,” Wyant said. “But one thing that I’ll say about this young group of women is that they’ve risen to the occasion like few other teams I’ve ever coached.”

In Wyant’s 11-year tenure at Penn, the 2014-2015 squad is just the second team to clinch an Ivy title.

“Our goal is to compete for Ivy titles every year,” he said. “I can fully appreciate how difficult it is to achieve this.”

Although the conference season may be in the books for the Red and Blue, the toughest opponents still have yet to be vanquished. This weekend, the team will head to Harvard to compete in the CSA Team National Championships.

As the tournament’s No. 2 seed, on Friday Penn will face the seventh-seeded team, which has yet to be determined. A win would guarantee a rematch between Penn and No. 1 ranked Trinity, who handed the Quakers their only loss of the season back in January.

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