W. Squash posts two more wins

Jessica DiMauro led the undefeated Quakers to two Ivy League shutouts. When the Penn women's squash team embarked on its first road trip of the season to Yale and Brown this weekend, senior co-captain Jessica DiMauro set out to prove that her ascension back to No.1 was no fluke. In her first dual match as the new No. 1, DiMauro squared off against Louise Smith of Yale(0-1, 0-1 Ivy League). DiMauro led the Quakers(5-0, 5-0 Ivy) to an easy 9-0 defeat of the Bulldogs, paving the way with her own 3-1 victory. The Quakers followed this up with another perfect 9-0 victory over Brown (1-3, 1-3 Ivy) on Sunday. After three straight years with her name essentially emblazoned into the No. 1 slot, DiMauro returned to campus this season to find her once-comfortable position on dangerous ground. DiMauro spent little time this past summer working on her squash game or even training at all, and when practice resumed this year, her once-minor faults had become glaring weaknesses. Junior Katie Patrick pounced on this opportunity. Patrick had spent her first two years as a Quaker on the heels of DiMauro in the No. 2 position, but just a few months ago, Patrick finally surpassed her teammate. Patrick opened the season at No. 1, but as DiMauro gradually rediscovered her game, she proved to Penn coach Demer Holleran that she is still one of the most dominant players in the nation and deserving of the team's top spot. "When I came back at the beginning of the season, I was not playing very smart squash, not waiting for opportunities," DiMauro said. "Lately I have been better at waiting for my opportunities to open up." DiMauro's return to the form that brought her the national title in 1996 and two subsequent trips to the finals in 1997 and 1998 was marked by her defeat of Patrick last week in a challenge match. After her easy match against Yale, DiMauro faced her first real test as the new No. 1 against Brown co-captain and fellow senior Devon Kennedy. DiMauro once again showed resiliency and determination, defeating Kennedy 3-1 in a closely contested match. This was one of the few competitive matches of the day as the Quakers only dropped two other games total. "She is one of the toughest people in college squash for me to play," DiMauro said. "She runs so much and never gives up on any ball and that is frustrating to me. "Generally I like to attack and if I attack too soon against someone that fit, she would get to the ball and put pressure on me. You have to wait for a real opportunity before you can attack." Holleran said she likes what she is seeing out of her new No. 1, indicating that DiMauro has raised her game to a whole new level. She believes that the changes in DiMauro's game are attributable to more than just her work directly on the squash court. "She is fitter than she's been in the past. I think that gives one confidence to be patient in the points and wait for the right opportunities," Holleran said. "She is concentrating better in setting up her winning shots and waiting to hit those shots when the time is right." Besides DiMauro, the Quakers all agreed going into this weekend that the matches would not be challenging. After Penn, ranked No. 3 in the nation, the talent level of the competition drops off sharply, as Penn beat No. 4 Yale 9-0. Holleran has attempted to protect her team from relaxing against inferior opposition by challenging them to give their all regardless of the competition. "We have adopted the team motto this season of 'Personal Best.' It is about playing your best in each match no matter who you are playing," DiMauro said. "I was impressed that everyone was able to do this. It is difficult to stay absolutely focused all the time because playing against someone you know you should beat, it is easy to get lazy." Two easy victories and an undefeated record to end the semester was not all the team got out of this weekend. In fact, it was not even the most important thing. A team that was having difficulty coming together at home was able to find itself once it got away from the Penn campus. "We had a team meeting on Saturday night after we got to Brown, and afterwards everyone just stayed in the coaches' room and hung out," DiMauro said. "We laughed, and it had nothing to do with squash. Everyone felt equally a part of the team. "I felt like all social issues were put aside. That is why I feel it was a successful trip for more than just because we beat Yale and Brown. The team really bonded, which will be important later on in the season."