SEASON PREVIEW: M. Squash envisions at top-4 finish

After a very successful season in 1993-94, the Penn men's squash team is ready for a breakout year. The team has an abundance of talent, a demanding and motivated coach, and some help from the sport of squash itself. Coach Ned Edwards has particularly good reason to be optimistic about this season because of a special change to take place in intercollegiate squash. For the first time in the United States, the game will be played with the "softball," a smaller, slower ball than the one that has been previously used in this country. The use of the softball is advantageous to Penn because the softball has been used internationally for a long time, and Penn has made it a point to recruit international students who are already familiar with it and the variations of the game that exist with it. "There was a focus this year on trying to recruit international athletes, and we feel we're more prepared for it than most," said Edwards, who himself was an All-American squash player at Penn. In addition to the international recruits, the team returns co-captains Craig Rappaport and All–American senior Steve Scharff. Scharff and junior Andrew Braff will likely battle for the No. 1 spot on the team. Other key members include senior Ian Childs, junior Carl Sibbern and sophomore Leif Bergquist. With a 3-3 record last season, Penn finished fourth in the Ivies behind perennial powers Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The Quakers did, however, finish sixth out of 43 schools in the postseason tournament, which Edwards felt showed the strength of the Ivy League. Edwards hopes for more parity after the softball is instated. "In the past, squash was an East Coast sport dominated by the Ivy League," he said. "Now, with the softball, we are hoping that schools like Michigan will start to compete nationally." Even with the optimism Penn has going into the season, don't expect the players to relax. "Our goal is to be the fittest team in the country," Edwards said. "Our practices are pretty strenuous, and we're only just beginning." Penn is currently ranked third in the Ivies after an encouraging win over the Elis in a preseason scrimmage. The team's toughest matches will likely be against Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Trinity and Amherst, with the tougher part of the schedule coming in the spring semester. Edwards' goal for the upcoming season is "to be second in the country." "More realistically, though, is beating Amherst, Trinity and Yale," he added.