Four W. Squash players head to nation's top tournament

While the rest of the Quakers community is toasting champagne and welcoming in the New Year, four members of the Penn women's squash team will be psyching themselves up for one of the most important tournaments of the year. Jessica DiMauro, Katie Patrick, Dana Lipson and Rina Borromeo will all compete January 2-4 at the Constable Invitational in Princeton N.J. -- a tournament for the top sixteen intercollegiate players in the nation. The tournament is invitation only, but all the Quakers but Borromeo have competed in this tournament before. Personal pride is not the only issue at stake. A strong performance in the Constable Invitational is an important factor in deciding All-American and All-Ivy honors. "It is an individual competition, but a win brings great honor to your team," Penn coach Demer Holleran said. "The fact that we have four representatives says a lot about our program." Junior Dana Lipson will be competing in the event for the third time. Last year she had a strong performance beating a high seeded player, Pricilla Martin. "I didn't have a very good year last year, so if I hadn't done well there I probably wouldn't have been All-American," Lipson said. This year Lipson hopes to finish in the top eight. To accomplish this, she knows better preparation is the key. "I always feel like I should be sweating and I'm not," Lipson said. "I just run on to the courts and I'm cold and I'm forgetting my shorts or I'm forgetting my racket. I just want to be well-prepared." Junior DiMauro will also be making her third visit to the tournament. She is expected to be seeded he No.1 -- trying for her third consecutive Constable championship. "Last year was probably the best tournament I've played since I've been at Penn," DiMauro said of her 3-0 victory in the finals. "I get to go home and play a bunch of new people, so when I come back to Penn I usually play my best squash." In addition to defending-champion status, DiMauro also has the advantage of experience playing on Princeton's courts. "The courts are freezing, which I love," DiMauro said. "It's easier to go short if its cold because the ball won't bounce up as high. It's better for my game style." The competition will be tough for DiMaur, with Harvard's No. 1 player, Ivy Pochoda, also competing at Old Nassau. For the Quakers, one of the highlights of the trip is getting to meet Betty Constable, whom the 20 year tournament is named after. Constable is a former Princeton coach. "She's this crazy little lady who always wears these orange plaid pants," Lipson said. "She hands out the awards at the end of the tournament." "At the end she gave me a bottle of champagne," DiMauro said. "She looks like the Princeton mascot."