M. Squash tops Trinity

Seniors lead Penn toSeniors lead Penn towin in season finale "It took us eight-and-a-half hours to get here," Trinity men's squash captain Austin Perkins said on Friday night. "We didn't come here to lose." But that's just what the Bantams did as Penn defeated Trinity, 6-3, at the Ringe courts Friday. The match was scheduled for 4 p.m., but was postponed until 6 p.m. due to a snowstorm that prevented the Bantams from arriving any earlier. It turned out to be the Quakers' last home match of the season because Amherst cancelled their Saturday match because of the weather. It was rescheduled and played last night at Yale. Three of Penn's six seniors won matches against Trinity in their final appearances at the Ringe Courts. Sanjay Nayar's 3-1 victory came against the school he transferred from two years ago. Ed Vincent won, 3-0, and co-captain Craig Rappaport won, 3-2. "It was really awesome to end our last home match with a win," Vincent said. The Quakers, ranked No. 6 coming into the match, were informed of the Lord Jeffs' cancellation before the match with the No. 4 Bantams and played as if it was the last match of the season. Trinity is known for its strength at the bottom of the lineup, but it was the Quakers who got victories from Nilay Mehta, Rajiv Mehta, and Ed Vincent in the No. 7, 8 and 9 positions. "The bottom of our lineup laid down and died today," Bantams coach Paul Assaiante said. "I also thought Penn played well today." The match was close throughout with Penn and Trinity splitting the first four matches. As the next five players took the court, the Quakers knew they needed at least three more wins for the overall victory. Andrew Braff and Sanjay Nayar finished first, with Nayar's win balancing Braff's 3-0 loss. Braff, the Quakers' senior co-captain and usual No. 1 player dropped down to the the No. 3 spot due to injury. "I've been unable to practice for eight days," Braff said. "It's a disappointing end to the season." The turning point came when Nilay Mehta pulled out a thrilling 3-2 victory by winning 15-12 in the final game. The Quakers would not lose another match all day. Ed Vincent finished off his opponent next to secure the Penn victory. The crowd's attention then turned to senior co-captain Craig Rappaport. Playing in the No. 1 position for the first time in his four years, Rappaport found himself down 2-1 with the match already won for Penn. But Rappaport battled back to take the final two games, 15-7 and 15-9, to the crowd's delight. "I'm thrilled," Quakers coach Ned Edwards said. "I'm especially pleased for Craig, Eddie and Sanjay."