M. Squash reaches end of line

Tonight, the Penn men's squash team will look to end its regular season in grand fashion as they host the Trinity Bantams. The Quakers (4-7, 2-5 Ivy League) come into tonight's match coming off of a 9-0 defeat at the hands of the third-ranked Princeton Tigers on Tuesday evening. The schedule doesn't get any easier as Trinity comes in ranked first in the nation following a 6-3 defeat of the Harvard Crimson. Penn has lost three matches in a row, all in the Ivy League, and five of six overall. All five losses have come against teams ranked in the top eight nationally heading into next weekend's ISA Team Championships. "Trinity is going to be a tough match," freshman Peter Withstanley said. "At this point, we are just looking to gain game and match experience heading into the nationals." For the Quakers' part, tonight's match stands as a test of pride, one which the players look at as important not in the scope of the season, but the program in general. "Right now we can't expect to win," senior co-captain Juan Dominguez said. "We have to go out there and play as hard as we can looking ahead to next year. Now, we are playing for Penn." The Red and Blue will be hard pressed to put forth competitive matches against a superior Trinity team; one that features last year's intercollegiate champion Marcus Cowie and first-team All-American Preston Quick. Injuries to four of the team's top nine players and the news that sophomore Chuck Braff, the team's No.1 player, will not be returning for the remainder of the season, have depleted the Quakers' lineup. To compensate, many inexperienced players have been asked to step in from the junior varsity level and play against some of the best players in the nation. "We have to go into the Trinity match the same as we went to Princeton, looking to play the best we can as individuals," said Withstanley. "One of the strengths that we have had to develop over the course of the season has been the freshmen and sophomores." Tonight will mark a new beginning for the men of Penn squash. Win or lose, it will be a beginning that should bring a refreshing reminder that some good can come out of a disappointing season that ended in heartache and frustration.

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