M. Squash begins second half of season

Since the unorthodox transportation taken by the Penn's men basketball team to McGonigle Hall for its game against Temple was not all that successful, the Penn men's squash team has decided to take a more typical route. Perhaps inspired by the Panhellenic sorority rush motto, "Back to the Basics," the Quakers will simply drive their cars to tomorrow's match against Williams at Princeton. The Quakers (2-1 Ivy League, 3-2 overall) play their first match tomorrow since the December 4-5 weekend when they defeated Amherst and Brown, but lost to perennial powerhouse Yale. "We were satisfied," Penn coach Ned Edwards said. "It was a little disappointing not to come up with something against Yale, but I think the guys played well." Undaunted by the menacing Williams logo -- a purple cow -- the Quakers are looking forward to starting off the second half of the year with a bang. Looking for revenge after last year's 6-3 lost to the Ephs, Penn seems to be concentrating on tomorrow's match. "I think right now we're really focused on this match," senior co-captain Billy Hamilton said. "We've got a tough stretch coming up with a lot of tough opponents, but we did lose to these guys last year and they have some good young guys. We're definitely looking forward to Williams." "Williams will be tough," Edwards said. "They've lost a couple kids at the top. We'll have to play well to win.The time off will hurt us a little bit. We haven't really got fully back in our rhythm. It will be a challenge for us to be prepared and settled." The Quakers are led by junior co-captain Steve Scharff, one of the fashionably correct members of the team, who has a tendency to wear a bandanna to keep his glowing blond hair out of his eyes. Scharff, a second team all-American last year, will be expected to have a tremendous second half of the season. "I think that Steve has the tools and if he really sets his mind to it, he'll have a great second half," Edwards said. "It's really up to him. Where some players maybe just don't have the tools to do it, he has the skills. If he really wants it, he'll have a great second half." Penn will play the rest of the season without sophomore Carl Sibbern, currently occupying the No. 7 spot in the lineup, who returned to his home country of Norway to do military service. So now, even more than before, the young freshmen will have to step up their game. "I think the young guys have added a lot," Hamilton said. "They've been the backbone of our success. They have helped a lot." The Quakers certainly don't think that they will overlook the next few matches in anticipation of the contests against the top two teams in the nation, Harvard and Princeton. "I actually think that Williams, Franklin & Marshall and Trinity are the really important matches," Scharff said. While most of the Penn campus is enjoying their four-day weekend, the Quaker squash team will be riding in the luxury of their heated cars along the New Jersey Turnpike to battle the ferocious Ephs of Williams. And, of course, their mascot -- the purple cow.