Season on line for M. Squash

The whole season comes down to this weekend for the Penn men's squash team. The Quakers will travel to New Haven, Conn., to play for the national collegiate squash championship today at 2 p.m. "It means the whole season," Penn senior Craig Rappaport said. "It means everything." Penn finished the regular season with a record of 8-4 and will be seeded fourth in the tournament. The top eight teams will play three matches each to determine the final rankings. Penn plays fifth-seeded Trinity college at Yale's Payne Whitney Gymnasium in a rematch of last Saturday's contest at the Ringe Courts. The Quakers defeated the Bantams, 6-3. "Friday's match is huge," Penn senior Ed Vincent said. "If we win, we're guaranteed a finish in the top four, which is where I think we belong." The Quakers have not finished better than their No. 5 ranking last year in the past four years. And for the four seniors, this is a chance to finish out their careers on top. "This is what counts," Rappaport said. "It would be nice to come through and finish in the top four for the first time in four years." In a season of high expectations, the Quakers have a legitimate chance at finishing their season at No. 3, should they win two out their three matches this weekend. A win against Trinity would put Penn in the semi-finals, most likely against Harvard. The Crimson, the overwhelming favorite to win the national title, would probably beat the Quakers, leaving Penn to play the loser of what would likely be a Princeton-Amherst match for third place. "It would be great to face Amherst again," Vincent said. "But we can't look past Trinity. The Bantams will be out to avenge their 6-3 loss to the Quakers last weekend. Penn junior Carl Sibbern is out to redeem himself after an individual loss to Trinity last week. "I was up 2-0," Sibbern said. "I'm just going to have to win this time. It's more important this time." Penn coach Ned Edwards is looking forward to this weekend's finale. "I'm terribly pleased with this team," Edwards said. "It's been a good season, and I'm anxious to see how we close it out."