M. Squash avenges big loss to F

After beating F&M;, the Penn men's squash team faces six teams in the next two weeks. Judgement day has come for the Penn men's squash team. Following a six-week break from competitive play, the Quakers (3-2, 2-1) have entered the most difficult part of a schedule that will see them play six matches over the next ten days; it is a stretch of the season that will ultimately decide the fate of Jim Masland's team. "Playing so many matches in such a condensed amount of time is very difficult," said Masland. "These next two weeks are not only important for our record, but in developing a level of competitiveness and a winning attitude as we head towards the end of the season." The first test for the Quakers came Wednesday night as they hosted perennial powerhouse Franklin and Marshall, with a chance to avenge last year's 8-1 drubbing. For Penn, the night began on an ominous note as its top three players, Chuck Braff, Juan Dominguez and Nilay Mehta, fell in their matches. But for a team that had been led by the top portion of its lineup for the entire season, a reversal of roles occurred. Senior Jason Karp and sophomore Andrew Hopkins, a transfer from F&M;, spearheaded an attack which saw Penn's remaining players win their matches in straight sets, propelling the team to a 6-3 victory. "Even though F&M; lost some of its better players to graduation, they still have a pretty impressive top three, which makes them comparable to any team," said Karp. "It was a no mercy effort on our part? we fought hard to beat them badly." The victory was not only key in getting Penn off to a good start for the rest of the season, but also in rebuilding parts of the team morale which had began to falter with the recent inactivity. "This win was important in raising our spirits and getting the team united," said Quaker freshman Will Ruthrauff. "We are now pulling in the same direction with the same focus in mind of winning, something which we had been missing during the absence of matches." With the victory over F&M; in hand, Penn now heads to Amherst, Mass., where it will face off against Williams College tonight at 6 p.m. and Amherst College tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Although the venue has changed from Wednesday night, the storylines behind Penn's opponents remain the same. Like F&M;, Williams and Amherst have lost key players in the last year. In addition, Penn is looking for revenge, as both Williams and Amherst embarrassed them last season, winning 8-1 and 9-0, respectively. While playing on the road against two teams which were nationally ranked in the top ten at the end of last season can be a daunting task, the Quakers' players are confident that their depth will prevail over the thinner, less experienced Williams and Amherst teams. "If we all play well and are on our games, we should be able to beat both Williams and Amherst," said Karp. "We won't blow either team away, but both matches are definitely winnable." Following this weekend, the trek gets harder as road matches against Navy, Dartmouth and Harvard loom on the horizon for next week. "We have worked hard over the last six weeks, running and doing drills, to prepare for these crucial matches," said Mehta. "As a team, we have the capabilities to beat any team that may be better than us on paper." It remains to be seen if the work that has been done in practice will translate into victories on the court. This is a period for the men's squash team, though, in which they have the opportunity to make themselves into a legitimate threat or fall into the category of being just another decent team.