Coming off a split with Cornell, the Penn squash teams were hoping to take home two wins yesterday.
In the first top of a four-game road stand, the Quakers squared off against in-state foe Franklin and Marshall in Lancaster, Pa.
However, the outcome was the same as it was two weeks ago against the Big Red. The No. 5 women (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) dominated once more, winning 9-0. The men (0-2, 0-1) suffered another defeat, losing 8-1 to the Diplomats.
The women, who easily handled Cornell in their first match of the season in a nine-match sweep, duplicated that performance against the Diplomats (0-3). In fact, the Quakers played just one game above the minimum, winning eight of the matches 3-0.
“Franklin and Marshall is a developing program on the women’s side,” newly-appointed head coach Jack Wyant said. “Talent-wise, there was a pretty big gap between the two teams.”
Still, despite what the scores might indicate, Wyant said “there is always room for improvement.”
He also added that the women will learn a lot about their competitive potential this Saturday, when the Red and Blue travel to New Haven, Conn., to take on Ivy League-powerhouse Yale.
On the other hand, the No. 9 men’s squash team struggled against No. 10 Franklin and Marshall (2-2), salvaging only one out of the nine matches.
“We ran into a very talented team who just simply played better than us on gameday,” Wyant said.
The lopsided 8-1 score doesn’t quite convey the closeness of the contest, as Penn managed to push its opponents into extra sets.
However the Diplomats prevailed when it mattered most. Franklin and Marshall took both of the matches that went to five games and also won the three matches that went to four.
The bright spot for the men was senior William Browne, who handled F&M;’s Pat Cunningham in straight games.
The men will try to turn around their weak start on Saturday, as they too play Yale. But this will be no easy task for Penn, as the Bulldogs are ranked second in the College Squash Association rankings.
The Quakers haven’t topped Yale since a 6-3 win in New Haven in 2006-07.
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