SEASON PREVIEW: Masland to lead Quakers

A new coach will direct a young squash team. Three months ago it looked like the Penn men's squash team would head into its seventh season under the direction of Ned Edwards. Last year, Penn finished ranked fourth in the nation and looked towards this season as an opportunity to build on its success. But on September 5, Ned Edwards announced his resignation. The surprise announcement came less than three months before the start of the season, and the program was sent scrambling looking for a replacement. Titus Cranch, the assistant coach, took over temporarily while the athletic department looked for a permanent coach. Two weeks ago Penn hired 1990 Harvard graduate Jim Masland as head coach of the Quakers. Penn will be led by senior co-captain Rajiv Mehta and Leif Bergquist. who are the only seniors on a relatively young team. Five of the top nine players are either freshmen or sophomores. "It's going to be a big challenge for this team to mature as quickly as possible," Masland said. The No. 1 player for the Quakers is sophomore Shams Minstry. Falling in just behind Minstry will be freshman Chuck Braff and junior Nilay Mehta. "We have a lot of players who are wet behind the ears, including myself," Rajiv Mehta said. "The only weak point is that we need more match experience." A large portion of the success will rest on how the younger players, especially Minstry and Braff, react to their roles. According to sophomore Bryan Abrano, the relationship between Minstry and Masland will also be critical to the success of the team. Last year the fiery Minstry did not compete in the individual national championship tournament at the end of the season after a dispute Edwards. The first test for the Quakers comes this Saturday against Cornell at the Ringe Courts. Penn's other matches before the semester break will be against Yale and Brown December 7 and 8. The Quakers have already defeated the Big Red and the Bears in an Ivy League scrimmage. The match against the Elis, however, will prove to be a good match. "Yale is going to be a benchmark. If we can get past them, we've accomplished something," Rajiv Mehta said. On February 1 Penn will take on Masland's alma mater, Harvard, who won the national championship last year. Other tough competition that the Quakers will encounter are Trinity on January 24 and Amherst on February 8. If Penn is going to overcome its disadvantage of the late hiring of Masland, it will have to be determined. "We're going to be the type of team that will go for every ball, that's not going to let up if we're down a couple of games," Abrano said. "Jim's doing a fantastic job right now. We feel like we're in good shape even though we got a late start to the season," Rajiv Mehta said.