Ephs upset M. Squash

Every morning when they get out of bed this week, the members of the Penn men's squash team's will remember their 5-4 loss to No. 6 Williams Friday night. The Quakers (5-1) have scheduled 8 a.m. practices all this week in addition to their regular afternoon sessions, after their hopes for an undefeated season were shattered unexpectedly by the Ephs. "We had a long meeting after the match," said senior Ed Vincent, who also added that Penn will focus on mental preparation and physical fitness as the team looks ahead to its showdown with No. 1 Harvard Saturday. Co-captain and No. 1 player Andrew Braff blamed himself for the loss, after losing the final game of his match 15-11. "I take full responsibility," Braff said. "I should have won. It was my fault." But Braff was not the only player who struggled. Vincent, playing in the No. 8 position, lost his match, 3-1, while senior Sanjay Nayar fell 3-2. "I could have performed better," Vincent said. "I was very disappointed. It was a big letdown. Williams was even missing its No. 3 player, but the apparent Penn advantage did not seem to matter. "They played well, and we didn't," co-captain Craig Rappaport said. "We didn't play well as a team." Seniors Rappaport and Ed Gross won 3-1 and 3-2, sophomore Nilay Mehta prevailed by a score of 3-1 and freshman Shams Minstry won convincingly 3-0. The match was played on a neutral site as it is every year between these two teams. This year Penn and Williams met at Princeton University and on alternate years they play at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. "It's always nice to play at home, but this wasn't home for them either," said Vincent. Penn has a chance of meeting Williams again at the Nationals.