SEASON PREVIEW: W. Squash ready to contend for league and national titles

Squash is a relatively unknown sport in the United States. Many of the students on Penn's campus probably don't even know their school has a varsity women's squash team. They will soon, if the 13 members of this year's team have anything to do with it. The Quakers' are hoping that a first-place finish this season will change that. They don't just mean the Ivy championship either. The Red and Blue are fighting for the No. 1 ranking in the country. Now that should open some eyes. Last year, the Quakers finished the season a decent 7-2, 3-2 in the Ivy League, good enough for a national ranking of third. With three All-Americans on the team in Jessica DiMauro, Katie Patrick and Dana Lipson, the Quakers feel they have a chance at more. "We're ready to go," Quakers captain Lindsay Moss said. "We're going to go out there and kick some ass!" The key to the Quakers' success may be the performance of four freshmen who will start in the middle of the lineup. Penn coach Demer Holleran, the 1997 national champion in her own right, has confidence that they can get the job done. "Our four freshmen are very competitive people," Holleran said. "They are good athletes and they're used to winning. That's a great thing they bring to the team. I don't feel like we are as young a team as we are in age." "Between three and seven is where the freshmen play," Penn captain and No. 1 player DiMauro added. "We have got to win those spots." The two biggest challenges Penn faces are Harvard and Princeton, which finished first and second, respectively, in the league and the country last season. Holleran is already focused on these matches, the first of which isn't until the last weekend in January. "We think that Princeton will beat Harvard, but with the way we match up, they will be equally hard," Holleran said. The Quakers' are glad they are not facing their biggest rivals until after the semester break. Injuries to DiMauro, Megan Fuller and Lauren Patrizio have limited their practice time and training. Although women's squash has deep roots in the Ivy League sport, having been played at Penn since 1970, there are only 28 schools nationwide that compete on the intercollegiate level. While the level of participation in the U.S. is relatively low, there are 120 countries world-wide that play competitive squash. The Quakers are fortunate to have experience on the international level. The team consists of two players from Canada, DiMauro and Patrick, who fill the top two spots in the lineup. In addition, Helen Bamber hails from Zimbabwe, and Rina Borromeo, also a Quakers tennis player, from the Philippines. The final piece of the puzzle is Holleran who will be manning the helm for her sixth season. "I think she is definitely the best coach in women's squash," DiMauro said. "She is so determined to win and knows how to win as a player. She has no problem passing that on to the team." Motivation certainly isn't a problem for the Quakers. After a loss in a preseason scrimmage against Princeton, emotions were running wild. "A girl on their team came up to me and said, 'Hey, maybe next time'," DiMauro said. "I just looked at her and thought, 'We're going to kill you'."