M. Squash regroups after tough season

Last year, the Penn men's squash team was plagued by numerous injuries to key players. Hurt by the loss of both a co-captain and their top recruit, the Quakers finished a disappointing 7-9 overall, 2-4 in the Ivy League. This year, the picture looks quite different. The Quakers are all healthy, focused and ready to challenge for the Ivy League title. Penn senior Shams Mistry and sophomore Jamie White rejoin the Quakers after missing all of last season with injuries they suffered over the summer. Both are completely recovered and will be ready to play. Two years ago, Mistry led Penn in the No. 1 spot in the lineup, and he recorded a 4-2 Ivy League record. His return will add strength and competitiveness to the top of the Quaker lineup. This season, White will make his debut as a Quaker. A top juniors player, his ability to contribute this year is extremely important to the success of the team. Returning to the team, along with Mistry and White, is Chuck Braff, who also missed part of last season due to a team suspension. "Things have always been good with Chuck," Masland said. "There has been no controversy in that situation at all. I spoke to him at the start of this season, and he's matured some so we'll see what happens. He's back and playing well and learning how to balance in a mature way his academics and athletics." Braff's return should add much competitiveness to the team. "Chuck brings a wide and exciting array of shots to each match," Quakers coach Jim Masland said. "He has shown that he can play with the best players, and I think he will do exceptionally well." Mistry, White and Braff will form the backbone of this very talented team. Penn also welcomes six freshmen to the team. An extremely strong recruiting class, three of the freshmen are expected to play in the top nine. "The freshmen are going to make an impact," Masland said. Another source of optimism this year is the team's ability to go deep into its lineup for quality players. "As a team, we have much more depth and more quality players than we did last year," Masland said. With Harvard, the dominant Ivy team in past years, not as strong, expectations for this year's Quakers are high. "We're looking to win every match we can. There is a lot of parity with a lot of the teams in the Ivy League. There should be a lot of very close matches," Masland said. After sitting on the sidelines all of last year, White is in the unique position of being able to judge this year's team in comparison to last year's. "We have a pretty young team, but I think we have a lot more potential and a lot more talent this year. If we work hard and train hard I think we have the potential of winning the Ivies," White said. While the Quakers look forward to competing for the Ivy League title, they have other goals, as well, such as finishing among the top eight teams in the country. "We definitely want to win the Ivies and beat teams like Harvard and Princeton this year," sophomore Will Ruthrauff said. "At the same time, last year we played in the second bracket of the team championships, so our goal this year is to play in the first bracket. That means finishing in the top eight." The talent and depth of this year's Penn team has the ability to make this squash season exciting, rewarding and, perhaps most importantly, successful.