W. Squash impressive in pair of Ivy victories

With two of the top seven teams in the nation coming to the Ringe Courts this weekend, the Penn women's squash team knew it would need to be at the top of its game. After beating both Yale (0-1 Ivy League) and Brown (1-1), there is no doubt the Quakers were. Those two wins, on Saturday and yesterday afternoons respectively, marked the first time the Quakers (6-0, 2-0 Ivy ) have defeated either of those league rivals since coach Demer Holleran arrived four years ago. The weekend began with a solid victory over Yale, 6-3, that mirrored the result at last month's Ivy scrimmage. All of the six Penn victories were by decisive 3-0 counts, and all three losses were by only one game, 3-2. Elis coach Dale Walker attributed the loss to her team's "50-percent raw talent". Although the Yale match was extremely important because it was the Ivy opener, the featured opponent this weekend was Brown. Coming off a win against a top-flight Princeton squad the day before, Brown promised to provide a stern test. The early results were not encouraging for the Quakers. Brown sprinted out to a 4-1 lead, meaning that a Bears victory in any of the four remaining contests would clinch a win. Jessica DiMauro and Katie Zivkovic, both 2-0 this weekend, quickly disposed of their opponents to cut Brown's lead to 4-3. That left all eyes darting between Jenna Bertocchi's and Dana Lipson's matches. Senior co-captain Bertocchi, playing in the ninth position, was locked in a heated match against Brown's Shannon Feaster, an accomplished racquetball player. Spectators jammed the rafters and seats above the court to watch the deciding fifth game. Bertocchi, determined to win a vital match after losing against Trinity two weekends ago, emerged as a 9-5 winner. "Jenna had the match of her career," senior co-captain Katy Textor said. The crowd then shifted over to see Lipson, playing third, finish off Brown's Alexandra Gordon, three sets to one. The win capped an impressive comeback, as Penn reeled off four straight victories for their first defeat of Brown in recent memory. The Quakers were understandably elated -- they have now beaten half of their fellow top seven teams in the nation. "It's just unbelievable. What's so exciting is that different people on the team are complementing each other. I am so proud of their playing through little, nagging things," Holleran said. This weekend is the close of the first half of squash season. The undefeated Quakers, one win short of last year's total already, will be out of competitive action until next semester. For Penn, wins over Brown and Yale are the perfect end to 1995.