M. Squash hits the road

The Penn men's squash team will meet its first big challenge of the season against Yale tomorrow afternoon in New Haven, Conn. The Quakers will then travel to Providence, R.I., on Sunday to take on Brown. Last year, Penn defeated both teams, 7-2 over Yale and 9-0 against Brown. However, a lot has changed in the past year. Penn is a much younger team and is now under the direction of first-year coach Jim Masland. Earlier this year, the Quakers defeated the Bears, but they lost to the Elis in the preseason. Penn, however, played without its top player, sophomore Shams Mistry. "Yale is going to be pretty tough to beat. They're a solid team," Penn junior Jason Karp said. "But Brown we should beat, no question." The top half of Penn's lineup, including Mistry in the No. 1 slot, is expected to have a strong weekend against both teams. Two weeks ago against Cornell, the Quakers' top four players won all their matches, losing only one game in the process. A solid performance by the lower slots in the lineup will be critical for a Penn victory. Penn won only two of the five bottom matches against Cornell. "I think the key is the bottom matches," Quakers freshman Andy Stevens said. "If we win a few of the bottom matches, it will bring us a victory." The Yale match, along with being the first big test for the Masland-led Quakers, will be a stepping stone for the rest of the season. After this weekend's matches against the Bears and Elis, the Quakers are idle until mid-January when they start into the heart of the season. "This will set us up for the rest of the season," Masland said. "Yale is going to be a benchmark," Penn co-captain Rajiv Mehta said. "If we can get past them, we will have accomplished something." This weekend's matches are being played on wide courts, which should help the Quakers. Against Cornell, the difference between the narrow and wide courts was a factor in some of the losses. "One of the problems right now is that we've been playing on the narrows but training on the wides. This weekend we'll be able to use our wide skills," Karp said. After a strong week of practices, Penn is confident going into this weekend. Nothing short of two victories will count as a success. "I want to win both matches, and I think we are capable of winning both matches," Masland said. The players put it in a little different terms. "If we come out 1-1, then we'll be disappointed," Karp said. "If we come out 0-2 then we'll be running."