Brown, Yale squash Penn

In its last two matches before trekking across the Atlantic to England during winter break, the Penn women's squash team lost 6-3 to both Yale and Brown on the road this past weekend. Last year the Quakers were crushed 9-0 by Yale and 8-1 by Brown. But after its close match against Yale Saturday, Penn was excited for its chances against Brown. The Quakers were frustrated with their loss to the Bears because they lost a lot of matches that could have gone either way. No. 1 Lissa Hunsicker won 3-2 over Yale's Emily Ash. Ash is in her third year as Yale's No. 1 player and has been an All-American for the past two years. Hunsicker ran down a lot of balls, showing more determination than Ash. Throughout the match, Ash's strategy was to try to win points with short balls, but Hunsicker never never gave her that opportunity. "She wasn't expecting me to be as strong. I was in control and thinking a lot," Hunsicker said. Ash was expecting to cruise past Hunsicker who lost to Yale's No. 2 player 3-0 at the Ivy Scrimmages earlier in the season. The next day in Providence, Hunsicker won her match against Brown decisively 3-0. Freshman Bridget George, playing in the No. 8 spot, edged both of her opponents 3-2 after trailing in each match. George was able to raise the level of her play towards the end of her matches. Against Brown, George was down two games and trailing 7-2 in the third because she was hitting a lot of balls out. She changed her strategy and started hitting the ball deeper to rally from behind and win. Abi Hopkins won the third match for Penn against Brown, defeating her opponent 3-1. She volleyed aggressively, attacked the ball and was mentally stronger than her opponent. Penn got its third win against Yale from No. 7 Jenna Bertocchi, who squeezed past her opponent 3-2 by capitalizing on her composure and finesse. She was the last Quaker on the court in both matches, so she got a lot of support from her teammates. "Since the whole team was watching, there was a lot of yelling and screaming," Penn coach Demer Holleran said. Bertocchi's match against Brown also went to five games, but the outcome was not as successful. More nervous and frenzied than she had been against Yale, Bertocchi lost 3-2. The coaches from both Yale and Brown were impressed with Penn's improvement from last year. The Yale coach was particularly impressed with captain Liz Fuss' game. The extra effort she has put in off the court has definitely added another level to her game, according to Holleran. With two Ivy matches out of the way, Penn can now focus on the experience it will gain in England. Holleran wants the Quakers to work on fitness, match play and their aggressiveness on the court during their trip abroad. "Our goal is to have some wins, especially Dartmouth, which would help us get into the first division to get another shot at Brown," said Holleran of the team's goals for next semester. "Beating Dartmouth is a realistic goal if we put in two months of solid work."