The Penn sophomore will defend her squash national title. As the final weekend of the 1996-97 Penn women's squash season approaches, a few selected members of the team are traveling today up to Hanover, N.H., the site of the Women's Intercollegiate Squash Invitational. The competition consists of the top 64 women's intercollegiate squash players. Last year, as a freshman, Jessica DiMauro won the tournament. DiMauro, a player with great composure, will defend her crown while fighting her season-long bout with mononucleosis. She does feel the pressure but is also confident in that she can handle any that may come along. "Last year I really did not have any pressure, because I had never won it before," DiMauro said. "I just went out there and played everyone and ended up winning. This year everyone is just expecting me to win. My dad is coming with people from home to watch. There is a lot of commotion and a lot of pressure." Along with DiMauro, freshman Katie Patrick, sophomore Dana Lipson and sophomore Lindsay Moss will also be competing in the tournament. Penn freshman Patti Lin is questionable for the tournament due to personal circumstances. The Quakers will be sending one of the five most numerous delegations to Dartmouth. DiMauro, a Toronto, Canada native, is the favorite to win after finishing the season with a 15-0 mark. DiMauro knows that her competition will be tough. In the quarterfinals, she will probably face Gail Davie of Trinity, already a two-time casualty of DiMauro this year. The semifinals is anticipated to be a rematch of last year's championship match, as DiMauro will probably play Harvard's top seed, Ivy Pochoda, who also lost twice this year to DiMauro. In the finals, DiMauro will most likely match up against Princeton's top seed Katherine Johnson. Johnson too has already lost twice to DiMauro this year, once at the Constable Invitational and the other in their regular-season match-up. Penn coach Demer Holleran expects both Patrick and Lipson to win quite a few matches. Patrick, seeded in the fourth through eighth grouping, should at least make it to the quarterfinals, where she will match up against the No. 4 seed, Harriet Ells of Amherst. Patrick has never played Ells before, and Holleran feels the match will be very exciting. Lipson is seeded in the ninth through 16th grouping. Her toughest match will come against Princeton's Elise O'Connell. Although the record from their previous meetings is split, O'Connell is favored because of notching the win in their last meeting. "It has always really tough between us," Lipson said. "The series has gone back and forth. It just depends who wants it more. Before the match I have to get psyched up." After a rough time last year, Moss is hoping to improve. Starting with a match against Yale's No. 7 player Rebecca Birch, her competition will be very tight. Holleran hopes that Lin, a first timer at the tourney, will pick up a few wins and enjoy her experience. Although the tournament does not affect the team rankings, the winner automatically earns player of the year honors. The rest of the finishes are used in conjunction with each player's regular season totals in selecting first- and second-team All-Americans. With each grouping receiving 10 players, Holleran is confident that both Patrick and DiMauro will earn first -team honors. Holleran feels that with a strong showing at Intercollegiates, Lipson will again place herself on the second team squad. "It is a great honor to be invited to Intercollegiates," Holleran said. "If you don't go you cannot get ranked All-American. It is an opportunity to end the season in style. For the ones who have a chance to go far in the tournament, it is important to remember that it is a lot of matches in just a three day period. It is hard to win all of those. Focus and concentration are a big part of it" Although the team competition has ended for the season, one of the players' most intense parts of the season is just beginning. With a solid squad of players, the Quakers hope to make a lot of noise up in Dartmouth. Holleran feels confident in DiMauro's ability to bring the top trophy back to Penn.
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