W. Squash comes up short

Penn women's squash team got what they wanted from the Princeton match –– practice playing one of the nation's toughest teams. No one expected the Quakers to win yesterday's match against the No. 3 Tigers; Penn just wanted to use it as preparation for the Howe Cup, which is quickly approaching. In fact, Penn coach Demer Holleran even said that the team played better in yesterday's 8-1 loss than they did during last week's 6-3 loss to Dartmouth. "I think we played a lot better today," Holleran said. "We played with a lot more fight, more effort and more thinking on the court. It's important to remember that Princeton is a really strong team and we have to pull it all together when we play an even team in the Howe Cup." Sophomore Dahlia Aronson believes that this match improved the team's confidence from last week's disappointing results when the Quakers were swept by Harvard and Dartmouth on the road. "Although we lost this game, we played well, and this will be a turning point for us," Aronson said. "We want to show everyone how well we really can play. We're a young team, and every match we play gives us more experience, and that's important for us in improving over the course of the season." Aronson, the lone victor for the Quakers at the No. 9 spot, received some praises herself. "We don't lose many No. 9 matches," Princeton coach Emily Goodfellow said. "I was very impressed with Aronson. She had good variety. She's going to make some contributions down the line." As for the rest of the Penn team, Goodfellow had many positive things to say as well. "I think it's a pretty good team. All the women seem to hit the ball very well," Goodfellow said. "They have good court sense and they're very well-coached." The climax of the match, however, was the battle between the top seeds. Penn senior Aimee La Gorce and Princeton freshman Katherine Johnson battled through five games, with Johnson leaving the winner. "Although it was a tough loss," La Gorce said, "playing Katherine Johnson is always a challenge and full of fun, not to mention we're good friends. I believe she has a great future ahead of her. She's only a freshman and she's full of talent." Goodfellow was impressed by the match that she felt was well-played by both La Gorce and Johnson. "It was an interesting matchup," Goodfellow said, "because Aimee is a senior and one of the top intercollegiate players up against a freshman who was the No. 1 national junior." Looking beyond yesterday's match, La Gorce has her sights now focused on the Howe Cup. "We've worked hard all season," La Gorce said. "The culmination of all our hard work will come to a head at the Howe Cup. I'm looking forward to playing in it because the Howe Cup is always great competition and a lot of fun." Sophomore Katy Textor is also looking forward to the tournament February 18-20. "I think, skill-wise, we've improved," Textor said. "Looking forward to the Howe Cup, we have to work on being competitive and getting to every shot. During the season, we've worked on everything else." Textor's expectations are optimistic as she feels the Quakers will pull together and concentrate on winning. "We have to go in and be psyched for every match," Textor said. "We have the skill and talent. We just have to put it all together." But this year, Penn, the victor in last year's second division of the Howe Cup, will have a tougher time repeating its success. There were eight teams in last season's first division tournament but only six will be chosen in this year's. The Quakers, therefore, will be playing teams who were qualified to play in the division one cup last season. With the Howe Cup next weekend, few members of the team are concerned about the match against Johns Hopkins today at Ringe Courts. The Quakers expect to topple the Blue Jays without any problem. Today will essentially be another small step for Penn as they wait to reach the all-encompassing conclusion to the squash season. With a little more confidence, the members of the team will attempt to dominate the second division of the Howe Cup and prove that they will soon be worthy to play in the first division.