Men out to gain respect The debate remains: Is Penn a second-tier Ivy school? On the basketball court and football field, that issue has already been resolved. The Quakers are untouchable. However, on the squash courts, the question has not yet been resolved. Penn (6-5, 3-2 Ivy League) was trounced earlier in the season by national powerhouses Yale and Harvard, but the Quakers have handled lesser Ancient Eight foes Cornell, Brown and Dartmouth. So where does that place Penn? The Quakers are at the point where a win against the immortal three -- the Elis, Crimson and Tigers -- can't be expected, but a loss against any other Ivy League squad would be devastating. So, as Penn prepares for its challenge against Princeton this evening at the Ringe Courts, expectations must be realistic. "Princeton will be really tough," senior co-captain Billy Hamilton said. "We're going to have a big match with them. I know we're going to take them seriously. Some of us are playing well and some of the guys aren't. Maybe we can win a couple matches and pull it off." No. 3 junior Vayu Garware hopes to return to action after missing the weekend's play due to illness. His loss forced many of the Penn players to move up a spot in the rotation and that is something they can't afford again. Otherwise, it will again be the freshmen who will have to carry the load. Out of the nine starters, four of the Quakers are in their first year at Penn. It has been their impressive play that has keyed some big wins. But against Princeton, a little more than luck might be needed for a Quaker victory. "It would be nice to win the whole thing, but it'll be really tough to pull off five games," sophomore Craig Rappaport said. "We do have Princeton [today], but I think the main goal is the ISA Championships in three weeks." One disappointment for Penn last year was its failure to qualify in the top eight bracket in those championships. This year, the Quakers can expect to be in the top region, but it won't be easy. Princeton, Yale and Harvard will definitely join them, along with other schools handing Penn losses -- Franklin & Marshall and Trinity. The most surprising Penn play this year might have come from Rappaport. As a freshman last year, he did see some time on the varsity roster. This year he has exploded. He carries one of the best match-play records on the team and looks like he's on his way to squash stardom. "With Princeton, it's that rivalry thing," Rappaport said. "We're going to be psyched up for it, a little more than Harvard." So if the Quakers expect to be taken seriously by the upper echelons in the squash world, they could use a win this evening against archrival Princeton.
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