SEASON PREVIEW: M. Squash digs deep in 1997-98

Despite two injuries, seven Penn men's squash players return for the new season. Cautious optimism with a hint of uncertainty. That is the mood surrounding the 1997-98 Penn men's squash team. Coming off a season in which his team won the Hoehn Trophy for winning a lower group at the Intercollegiate Squash Association Team Championships, second-year coach Jim Masland is looking to guide the Quakers back to greater success. "I was very impressed with how the team came together during that weekend," Masland said. "We became a more cohesive unit and that can be related to why we won the tournament. The title has definitely given us some momentum heading into the season." Penn sports a deep team this season, with seven of its nine top players returning for another year. The team is led by senior co-captains Juan Dominguez and Tim Filla, who are joined by fellow seniors Jason Karp and Nilay Mehta. After those top four players, the Quakers will rely upon younger players, such as Andrew Hopkins, a sophomore transfer from Franklin and Marshall, and freshmen Will Ruthrauff and Peter Withstanley to solidify the remainder of the lineup. Penn has been snake-bitten already in losing its No.1 player from last season, Shams Mistry, for the first half, due to injuries sustained in a summer car accident. In addition, highly touted freshman Jamie White tore two knee ligaments during the off-season when he fell down a flight of stairs. While both players are hoping to return sometime during the second half of the year, Dominguez feels the team cannot place its fate solely upon their arrivals. "No one stands out on this team, but anyone is capable of winning," Dominguez said. "In order to be successful, we must work collectively and support one another. We can't rely on our injured players until they come back and are in playing shape." Injuries notwithstanding, the consensus of the team is that the keys to success are dedication, commitment and strong leadership from its two captains. "Juan and Tim have to lead by example so that the younger players on the team can see what it means to have a good work ethic and develop one themselves," Masland said. "Motivation is key to our success," Karp said. "We have to train more and increase our stamina. What has happened in the past is that players would start out well early and then fall off later in matches." Many players are confident the positive results from the end of last season will carry over to make Penn (6-8, 2-4 Ivy League in 1996-97) one of the tougher teams in the league. After Harvard and Princeton, the top two teams in the league, there is a feeling that the other five teams are equally talented. "Our goal is to finish as high as possible," Filla said. "It is not inconceivable for this team to finish in the first bracket of the Nationals and really push to be one of the upper-echelon teams." The first step in the process comes this Saturday, as Penn has its first match of the year at Cornell. During the Ivy Scrimmages earlier in the month, the Quakers defeated the Big Red, 7-2. Masland and his players are looking at the match as a critical one in prelude to facing two of their more difficult opponents, Brown and Yale two weeks later. "This match is key to our entire season," Dominguez said. "A win could set the tone for our entire season and show the players how far they have come and where they need to go." The match is key for the younger players on the team, as a solid all-around victory where everyone plays well can go far in boosting their confidence even more. Penn will be looking to be aggressive and jump on a team that it feels it can beat. "This should be a relatively easy victory," Karp said. "A loss would really hurt our morale." In a long season, the Quakers hope their optimism does not prove unfounded. If they play with the same bold character they have shown to this point, it should be an interesting season around the Ringe Squash Courts.