Minstry a gift from Pakistan

As surely as the United States is where the best basketball players play, Pakistan is where you will find the top squash players in the world. Anyone who knows squash will tell you the small South Asian nation is the squash capital of the world. It is a popular national sport in a country that produces the best who play the game. And it is from Pakistan that the newest yet most experienced member of the Penn men's squash team comes. Shams Minstry began playing squash at the age of nine in his homeland of Pakistan. He has extensive international experience, having already competed in tournaments in Germany, France, Australia and New Zealand. All of this, and he is only a freshman. Playing in the No. 2 position, Minstry will be a key for the Quakers as they take on Navy in Annapolis, Md. at 4 p.m. Minstry was heavily recruited by many of the America's top squash programs, including Harvard and Princeton. "I wanted to come to Penn because of the strong squash program and the business program it has to offer," Minstry said. "I really like the coach. They take good care of the players." Penn coach Ned Edwards is equally happy to have Minstry playing for the Quakers. "He's as talented as anyone playing squash in college right now," he said. "It was a big deal for us [when he came to Penn]." Minstry is in his second semester at Wharton and says that Penn was the best place for him to play squash and pursue a career in business. He is enjoying life living in the United States, where he had visited but never lived before. His time is limited, however, due to his heavy practice schedule. Minstry has begun practicing twice a day, including a workout every morning at 7:30 a.m., preparing for the important upcoming matches matches against Harvard and Princeton. But first Minstry must concentrate on the Midshipmen. Minstry's main personal goal this year will be to win the Intervarsity individual title -- the national championship of squash. The title will be decided in a tournament of the best collegiate players at the end of the season. Minstry has put himself in position to contend for the crown, putting up a record of 5-1. His only loss of the season came November 18 at Western Ontario. If Minstry can come through with an Intervarsity title, he will only add to the legacy of Pakistani squash dominance.