W. Squash close season with win over Trinity

This past weekend, the Penn women's squash team closed the door on their 1996-97 squash season in style by defeating Trinity, 5-4. The victory solidified the Quakers' (7-2) claim of being the third-best team in the nation by turning back the previously sixth-ranked Bantams (11-5). It was Penn's last dual match of the year and captain Elissa Helt's last match at the Ringe Courts. The victory did not come as a surprise to Penn, as they had defeated Trinity last weekend at the Howe Cup Invitational, 6-3. The match started out similarly for the Quakers with Jessica DiMauro, Katie Patrick and Lindsay Moss each racking up victories. It was the end of an amazing dual-match year for both No. 1 DiMauro and No. 2 Patrick, who did not lose one match in their respective spots all year. As the matches dwindled down, both Dana Lipson and Paige Kollock defeated their opponents to give Penn the win. "I thought Paige acquitted herself very well in winning her match," Penn assistant coach Titus Cranch said. "Her opponent is a good player. I thought if anybody deserved a medal for pulling it out for Penn today it was Paige." Unfortunately for Penn, the victory was overshadowed by the final match of the afternoon. As Helt walked on her home court as a competitor for the final time in her career, she already knew that her team had won the match. For five grueling games, Helt and Trinity's Sarah Burbank battled. Helt took the second and third games. Burbank, however, won the first, fourth and fifth games, spoiling Helt's farewell. "Elissa has never been able to countenance defeat with a smile," Cranch said. "My guess is that she is going to remember this one for a while and feel disappointed, but then look back over her career, knowing that she did a good job for Penn and was a good captain. I hope that is the way she will remember her Penn career, because she has been essential to the success of this team." For Helt, it marks the end to an illustrious career as the first player to complete all four years playing under Penn head coach Demer Holleran. Helt has seen the program grow from 10th her freshman year to third-place this year. She has experienced the transformation of the game once played on a narrow court to the current international wide-court dimensions. The senior has witnessed the coming and going of many great Penn players and friends. Starting with four other girls as a freshman, Helt was the only one that survived the whole ride. Her first year, Helt idolized former captain Aimee Lagorce for her on-court skills and personable demeanor. Last year, many of Helt's close friends on the team graduated including, former captains Jenna Bertocchi, Katy Textor and Lissa Hunsicker. Through it all, Helt has dramatically improved her game every year. "She has become a much smarter player on court," Holleran said. "She does not like to lose. The fact that she is incredibly fast, gets to so many balls and never gets tired is very intimidating to her opponents." As the only senior on a team without any juniors, Helt stepped up and motivated the young team to play maturely and with passion. Her come-from-behind victory in the deciding match this season against Dartmouth exemplified her never-give-up mentality. "When it was four-all and she was on court last, I was not worried that we were going to lose," DiMauro said. "She is so determined when she is on court last and the crowd is pushing her on." Last year's match against Trinity was the most cherished experience of Helt's career. After being down two games in the deciding match, Helt pulled it together to defeat the Bantams' Betsy Paluck. Avoiding several match points, Helt and Penn came away with the victory. Helt's final match as a Quaker will come next weekend at the Women's Intercollegiate Championships. "I am a little sad," Helt said. "I like the team, and I like playing squash. I am kind of happy. I am sick of practicing everyday. It is a long season, and I have been here for four years and that is a long time."

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