Trinity falls to W. Squash, again

As in the Howe Cup, Penn once again came out on top of the Bantoms, this time 7-2. The Ivy League and national champions may have already been crowned, but the Penn women's squash team was not about to end its season as losers. On Saturday, the Quakers faced Trinity (14-5) on the road for the second time this season, beating them by a resounding 7-2 score. Penn (6-2) destroyed the Bantams 9-0 in their earlier meeting on February 13 in the first round of the Howe Cup team championship. "Everyone was a little lethargic and not on top of their games," Penn coach Demer Holleran said. "It's been a long season and having to travel again wore us out a little." Despite some mediocre performances, the score indicates that the Quakers were simply the stronger team. "People were struggling with their matches but still managed to pull out a win which is good to learn," Holleran said. "It's important to be able to win when you are not playing your best." Holleran cited the toughness exhibited by freshman Helen Bamber, No. 3, and sophomore Paige Kollock, No. 8. Both lost a game early in the match but battled back to win by scores of 3-1. Most noteworthy, however, was the performance at the No. 2 spot by Katie Patrick. The sophomore has been a model of perfect consistency for the Quakers over the past two seasons, going undefeated in dual match play both years. Patrick's latest victim was the Bantams' Gail Davies, who she fought to a 3-1 win. "It was her toughest match at No. 2 this season," Holleran said. "It was a good match for her and her fitness really showed toward the end." "She was making a lot of mistakes and I was being patient and capitalizing on them well," Patrick said. "I was glad we could pull out a win even though it was sort of after the season." Patrick's next goal is to post a strong performance at the individual championships this weekend at Amherst. Last year she was unexpectedly bounced in an early round of the competition. What the Quakers need most in order to prepare for the Intercollegiates is a little rest. "I think we were all pretty tired and everyone's nagging injuries were bothering them," freshmen Lauren Patrizio said. "It was hard to have to play again after the Howe Cup." The Quakers lineup was slightly different than in the previous meeting between the two teams due to No. 7 Lindsay Moss' quadracept injury. As a result, Megan Fuller and Kollock each moved up from their usual eight and nine spots, and sophomore Patti Lin filled in at No. 9. "Patti played extremely well," Holleran said. "She really stepped up and got the job done. It shows how important the No. 10 spot is." The only two losses of the day, both by a 3-0 score, were suffered by junior captain Jessica DiMauro at No. 1 and Fuller at No. 7. Although the Quakers lacked their usual intensity, they were satisfied with their performance. "We had a positive attitude and fought hard even though not everyone played their best," Patrizio said. "It was a good note to end the season on."