Ivy leading Tigers blank M. Squash, 9-0, at Ringe Courts

Not one Quaker was able to win his match as the men's squash team was shut out. Last night, the Penn men's squash team fell into another pothole in what has been a never-ending season. Following a stretch where Penn (4-7, 2-4 Ivy League) lost four of six road matches, returning home seemed to be the medicine that would cure a team dealing with turmoil and a string of difficult defeats. All that awaited the Quakers though, was a visit from the Princeton Tigers, the third-ranked team in the nation. Princeton (9-1, 5-1) administered a dose of its own medicine as the Tigers went into the Ringe Squash Courts and easily put away Penn, 9-0. Every Penn player fell in straight sets to his opponent. Freshman Peter Withstanley gave a solid effort in losing 17-15, 15-12, 15-9 to junior Gardner Lamotte, and senior co-captain Juan Dominguez was ahead in the first set of his match against All-American Amir Give'on before faltering down the stretch. "Princeton is just a really strong team up and down the lineup," Withstanley said. "When you're playing someone who makes clean shots and, in my case, who was a Junior National Champion, it makes a difference." Penn fell prey to a Princeton team that was quicker and sported players with superior, polished games. The Tigers had another advantage over the rapidly fading Quakers: more depth and experience throughout the roster. Princeton played only one freshman in its top eight, while Penn featured four players in their first or second years. Entering the match, the Quakers were not expecting to take many points, so the loss did not come as much of a surprise. The players though were pleased with the effort that was put forth against a team to which they were vastly inferior. "The score was indicative of where we are and where they are," Dominguez said. "I was proud of the effort; we could not have put more in. The fact is we don't have enough good players to finish off matches." The fight of the young Quaker squad also struck Princeton coach Bob Callahan. "I was impressed with the play of Juan Dominguez, who has really settled into the No.1 role and Peter Withstanley, who showed great quickness and athleticism," Callahan said. "Every player was competitive and exhibited great sportsmanship and respect for the game." Both teams played last night's match without their No. 1 players in the lineup, although neither team looked to the absences of the players as having a major impact upon the outcome of the match. Princeton has been without All-American sophomore Peter Yik, who is suffering from a bout of tendonitis in his knee. On the Penn side, Chuck Braff was a healthy scratch due to unspecified team reasons. "At this point, we have to think about the team that we have, not what could be or could have been," Dominguez said. What could have been for the Quakers with a victory over Princeton was new life heading into its final match against Trinity and the ISA Team Championships. Instead, the Quakers were handed another bitter pill to swallow, one which proved to be fatal.