M. Squash trying to regain 'kill' attitude

Today the Penn men's squash team looks to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Trinity over the weekend, as it takes on the fifth-ranked team in the country, Franklin and Marshall. The weekend's loss was the worst of the season for the Quakers (2-4). Every Red and Blue player was defeated by his Trinity (8-0) counterpart. Both captains, Rajiv Mehta and Leif Bergquist, had a tough time of it in Hartford, Ct., losing in straight sets. In fact, the only Quaker to win a set was junior Nilay Mehta. Junior Jason Karp felt that the team has not played its best squash this season and it was not mentally ready to play the No. 2 team in the nation this past Saturday. "We're better than we have been performing," Karp said. "It doesn't seem like the overall morale of the team is the 'kill' kind of attitude that we need to have." The general feeling of the Quakers about the Trinity meet was that it served as a good measurement for some of the top talent in the nation. Especially since Penn will be battling against Harvard, the No. 1 team in the nation, this weekend. Right now Karp and his teammates are in the process of getting themselves motivated for today's meet against Franklin and Marshall. "We are working on concentrating and motivating ourselves," Karp said. "We have to play smarter and not rely too much on our shots or physical endurance." From the captains to the freshmen, everyone seems to be pleased with the effort of rookie coach James Masland. Karp felt he would like to see Masland attempt to "crack down" on the younger players more. "The coach is a great guy," Karp said. "Even though it is not his fault, it is the players' fault for our recent performances? I think he needs to focus more on getting our team motivated."