SEASON PREVIEW: Young W. Squash has optimistic outlook

BY JASON BRENNERBY JASON BRENNERDaily Pennsylvanian Sports Writer "This year we're a much younger team," Quaker coach Demur Holleran said. "We have three new sophomores and four freshmen on varsity." Holleran believes that the team has the potential to at least equal last season's 9-9 record. Unfortunately for the Quakers, their Ivy League performance was not as good as their overall record was last year as they lost to every other league team with the exception of a 1-1 split with Dartmouth. If anyone can teach the team new techniques and possibly lead them to a winning season, Holleran can. She is the top-ranked women's squash player in the United States. Holleran has won the national championships each of the past two years and has represented the U.S. in international competitions as well. But Holleran's personal success is not enough to lead the Quakers to a winning season. "It's going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of fight," Holleran said. "Having a lot of guts on the court and never giving up is going to be a big factor for us." The Quakers are already putting "a lot of guts" into their play. Last weekend, the team competed in a three-day Ivy scrimmage tournament at Brown. Although they lost to Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the Bears, their matches were hard-fought and very close. Penn, however, did notch a victory against Dartmouth. "People are working really hard," senior co-captain Wendy Sullivan said. "There's a lot of effort going into our playing. A good squash team has a lot of depth which we seem to be cultivating." "Everyone goes for every single ball," sophomore Dahlia Aronson said. "It doesn't matter if they're losing 8-0 or winning 8-0." With top-seeded senior Aimee La Gorce – who has competed on the U.S. national junior squash team – joining Sullivan and junior co-captain Liz Fuss (who is spending the fall semester in France but will return in the spring), the younger members of the team will have some role models to look up to. Holleran believes that La Gorce is "probably one of the best college players [around]." The Quakers will compete against Vassar tomorrow night in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Then on Saturday, they will go up against Trinity and Wesleyan on Trinity's home courts in Hartford, Conn. Whatever the outcome of the next few matches, Penn still hopes for more fan support this year. "Squash is one of the best all-around physical sports," Holleran said. "It's great for fitness and getting competitive energies out." "You have to understand how tough squash is," Aronson said. "It's a really tough sport that takes a lot of will and determination." With the will and determination that the team possesses, the Quakers hope to be much more successful this year.