M. Squash faces Tigers' killer 1-2 punch

Jessica TuchinskyJessica TuchinskyThe Daily Pennsylvanian Yet tonight the Penn men's squash team travels to Princeton to take on the Tigers amid absolutely no fanfare, despite the Tigers' No. 3 national ranking. Princeton's strength lies in its top two players, with the Tigers fielding one of the strongest one-two combinations in collegiate squash. The Tigers' No. 1 is co-captain Amir Give'on, a two-time All-American and the top-ranked player in his native land of Israel. And despite being Canadian, Princeton No. 2 Peter Yik is a two-time All-American. Yik is also the 1997 U.S. under-25 national champion. In fact, the Tigers (5-0 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) are so impressive that the Quakers have yet to defeat them under third-year head coach Jim Masland. Rather than dwell on the past, Masland remains optimistic and sees this matchup as a chance for the Quakers to prove themselves as a team. "Princeton is a very strong team, but I think down below we match up quite well," Masland said. "In my mind the match comes down to how much we really want it and how tough we play. I think this is a real opportunity for us to go into a tough environment and play well." While the Tigers trounced the Red and Blue 9-0 last year, the Quakers have already decreased that margin this season. Without three of its top players, Penn lost to Princeton at the Ivy Scrimmage by a slightly improved score of 8-1. Besides the improvement of this year's squad over last year's, the Quakers have other factors in their favor. While in the past not a particularly good travelling team, the Quakers managed to pull off a hard-fought 5-4 win at Franklin and Marshall last week. The experience at F&M; taught the team important lessons about the necessity of arriving mentally prepared and staying focused throughout the entire match. "In the past we have had trouble with traveling and then playing a match," sophomore No. 3 Jamie White said. "In fact, at F&M; nine out of our top 10 lost their first game. "We realize that we have to be better prepared mentally. We are there physically and we have the shots, but we just have to get our heads into it on the van ride over," he said. Another factor in the Quakers' favor that should not to be overlooked is the bottom half of the Tigers' lineup. Princeton's bottom five are not nearly as formidable as its top half. "Princeton is odd because they have a solid lineup in the top half and they get much weaker towards the bottom," Masland said. "Our team, on the other hand, has a lot of talent, but I think our strength is that we have a lot of depth," he added. "That is what allowed us to beat all of the teams we have beat this season." If the Red and Blue hope to pull off an upset win over the Tigers, they will probably need the services of No. 2 Chuck Braff, whose status for the match remains questionable due to an academic conflict. Even if Braff is available to join the team, the road to victory for the Quakers remains, at best, uncertain. "With a team like Princeton, you are getting into the upper tier of talent, and we are going to need all nine players at their very best," junior Andrew Hopkins said. But in addition to peak performances by its top nine, Penn could also use a little divine intervention, at least according to White. "With God on our side, there are endless possibilities against Princeton," he said. "So, hopefully everyone on the team will be praying in the morning."