M. 'Squash'ed by Harvard, 9-0

The roller coaster ride of the season for the Penn men's squash team took another nosedive last weekend, as the Quakers fell in New England to Ivy foes Harvard and Dartmouth. "Following last weekend, the team is definitely broken," junior co-captain Juan Dominguez said. Penn (4-6, 2-3 Ivy League) entered the weekend coming off a solid 6-3 victory over Navy. For the Quakers, that win seemed to have righted a team that was on the verge of self-destruction following losses at Williams and Amherst. The next challenge that stood in front of Penn came Saturday evening in the form of the Harvard Crimson, six-time defending national squash champions. The Quakers did not expect to win many games from the national powerhouse and ultimately proved to be no competition for Harvard (5-0, 4-0), as the Crimson walked through a decisive 9-0 sweep. Penn was overmatched by a deeper Harvard team that was seasoned in championship play. The loss showed the Quakers' players just how far they have to go to reach the Ivy League elite. The only Penn player to win a set in any match was sophomore Chuck Braff, who eventually fell 3-1. "We played as hard as we could in every match to win as many points as we could," Penn freshman Will Ruthrauff said. "In the end, I think we saw the match more as a chance to hone our skills and prepare for the important match against Dartmouth." The Quakers saw the match against Dartmouth (5-5, 3-2) as one that would determine whether they had an opportunity to climb into the first tier of teams that would challenge for the national championship later this month. Penn went into Sunday's match confident that the experience at Harvard would serve them well. While the experience may have carried over from Harvard, so did the results, as Penn was crushed by the Big Green, 8-1.The Quakers provided a more competitive effort than Saturday, as only three of the eight losses came in straight sets. Ruthrauff and fellow freshman Peter Withstandley jumped out to 2-0 leads, but each lost in five sets after being worn down by older, more experienced opponents. "As a freshman playing against a senior with a lot of people watching, I feel that I choked," said Ruthrauff. "I put myself under a lot of pressure and the lack of match experience proved to make the difference." Penn sophomore Andrew Stevens also took his match to five sets after falling behind 2-0. Dominguez gave Penn its only victory with a 3-0 thrashing of Jon Gabel. "I was impressed with the competitiveness of the team," Dominguez said. "You can slack in a match and still win. It might sound weird, but I was happy with the way we lost." Despite the effort, the loss to the Big Green dealt a devastating blow to the prospects of Penn's season. With two matches left against Princeton and Trinity -- two teams who are ranked in the top five in the nation -- the Quakers can finish .500 at best. Barring a miracle, Penn will have to set its sights upon participating in the second tier of the nationals, a far cry from the goals that were set out at the beginning of the season by a then confident team. "We were hoping to come away with a victory in a match that could have gone 5-4 in either direction," said a disappointed Dominguez. "The loss at Dartmouth shook the ground beneath us." Dominguez also acknowledged that tensions within the team have contributed to its downfall. "Coach [Joe] Masland and Chuck [Braff] have had differences which have hurt the team," Dominguez said. "Essentially, they have not been able to learn how to work together and it has become a difficult situation." For a team that is divided and licking its wounded pride, the question remains of how it will pull itself together to get through the rest of the season. "I think that the seniors have to try to get as much possible in these last few weeks. Jason [Karp], Nihal [Mehta], and I all have a chance to be All-Ivy or All-American after the individual championships," Dominguez said. "The underclassmen now will have to try and hold the team together going into next season." The Quakers' nosedive came suddenly and unexpectedly last weekend. Its impact caused the team's hopes to come crumbling down, placing its future in dire condition.

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