If last season is any indication, Franklin and Marshall will not present much of a challenge for the Penn women’s squash team.
The No. 4 Quakers already repeated part of last year, topping Cornell, 7-2, in their season-opener, just like they did last season.
And if last year’s trend continues, Penn (1-0, 1-0 Ivy) will defeat No. 23 Franklin & Marshall 9-0 when it hosts the Diplomats tonight at 7 p.m in its home opener.
Coach Jack Wyant is confident that his athletes will execute their individual game plans and come out with a ‘W.’
“At least looking at both teams on paper, we have a higher ranking and a more experienced squad, so I definitely think we’re the favored team.”
In their first game against the Big Red, the rookies and veterans both came out with hard-fought victories.
Senior co-captain Kristen Lange started off with a sweep at the top of the ladder, along with seniors Britt Hebden and Christina Matthias who also had uncontested matches.
Despite competing in their first match, the freshmen made significant contributions, including Rachel Goh’s 3-0 finish against Cornell captain Liza Stokes and Yarden Odinak’s victory over Cornell’s team MVP from 2008-09.
Wyant was very pleased with the overall poise that his team showed.
“With five freshmen, you don’t know how they’re going to handle the team dynamic, but they showed complete composure on court.”
Even with the good start for the members of the class of 2013, there were still a few aspects the Quakers have been seeking to improve over the past week, according to Hebden.
“We have been working on hitting the ball higher to get better length … and it sets us up for the next shot and attacking,” she said. “But since we’re home, we’re just working on getting the ball deep.”
The Diplomats finished last year ranked 22nd by the College Squash Association (CSA), but are a spot behind this year. Penn, meanwhile, finished fourth last year and has maintained that ranking through the preseason and into the second round of the rankings.
Franklin and Marshall enters following a rough loss to Dartmouth. The Big Green swept the Diplomats at every position, defeating them 9-0.
Penn’s biggest challenge will be Kristen Lange’s match-up against No. 1 sophomore Morgan Smith, who played at the top of the ladder in all her games as a freshman.
That said, Penn is gunning for the complete shutout.
“We expect to sweep every [match], but Wednesday is a definite possibility,” Hebden said.
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