Tigers edg M. Squash

"We were seven points away," Penn men's squash coach Ned Edwards said. Just seven points were the difference between a loss for the Quakers (7-3) last night and an upset of the No. 2 program in the nation -- Princeton. The Tigers (8-1), who have only lost to No. 1 Harvard, narrowly defeated Penn by a score of 6-3 yesterday at the Ringe Courts. The Quakers lost two matches by scores of 3-2. Penn senior Ed Gross tossed his racquet in disgust after losing 15-13 in the final game of his match while Quakers junior Rajiv Mehta was somewhat less animated in his five-game loss. But given the quality of the competition, the Quakers are taking the loss in stride. "This is the best I've seen our team play since I've been at Penn," Quakers junior Leif Berquist said. "We outhustled them, but they just ended up on top in some close matches." The only Penn player who seemed to struggle was co-captain Andrew Braff, who lost 3-0 playing in the No. 1 spot. After losing his first game and winning the second in a tie-breaker, Penn freshman Shams Mistry was the only Quaker who won easily. Princeton came into the match favored but knew it would be tough playing the Quakers on Penn's home turf. "I took a huge sigh of relief," Tigers coach Bob Callahan said. "We had every chance to lose and probably had very little right to win. I thought Penn played with a lot of heart and energy. They dictated the tempo of the match and forced us not to play as well." Edwards was disappointed at the loss, but was also pleased with the effort his players put forth. "We were so close to a victory against a team that's incredibly more experienced than us," Edwards said. "Everyone [of Princeton's players] was heavily recruited out of high school, and everyone of our guys could have won." The Quakers had been looking forward to this match all season long and have been practicing twice a day in preparation. It was Penn's biggest chance to make a statement to the Ivy League. With six seniors among the Quakers top nine players, Penn hoped this would be a breakthrough year. "We played strong matches top to bottom," said Penn senior Ed Vincent, who won a close 3-2 match playing in the No. 9 spot. "Ned had us well-prepared." And while Penn did not pull it off this time, it may have another shot at the Tigers at the national championship meet. "It was a good experience," Vincent said. "Hopefully we'll get a win next time."