Harvard squeaks by W. Squash again

The third-ranked women's squash team fell to top-ranked Harvard by a 5-4 score for the second consecutive year. In the end, it was just more of the same old thing for the Penn women's squash team this weekend. A season that began full of optimism and a renewed sense of hope came to a screeching halt on Saturday at Ringe Courts, where the Quakers fell to Harvard 5-4 for the second consecutive year. With a crowd of approximately 300 people split between the two teams, this was anything but the everyday squash match. Early in the match sophomore Lauren Patrizio, playing at No. 4, gave Penn fans reason to hope that this might finally be the year that Penn (7-2, 4-2 Ivy League) defeated Harvard (8-0, 4-0). After quickly getting down 2-0 and with her back against the wall, Patrizio was able to turn her game around. She came back and defeated freshman Carlin Wing 3-2, winning the fifth game 9-7. Just three weeks ago in the Princeton Championships -- an individual tournament -- Patrizio pulled off a similar comeback against Wing en route to finishing fifth. "It just took a lot of concentration and I was able to shift the momentum my way with the crowd behind me," Patrizio said. "My match was inspiring. Coming from behind like that is the greatest feeling in the world and it helps me not to doubt myself." With Patrizio's match in the books and sophomore No. 1 Katie Patrick and senior co-captain No. 2 Jessica DiMauro easily dispatching their opponents 3-0, it looked as if the luck had finally switched to the Quakers' side. But Penn lost four of its next five matches to tie things up at four apiece. Sophomore No. 3 Helen Bamber, a heavy underdog against Harvard senior Stephanie Tiaford, took the court needing to win. After battling for nearly an hour and a half, Bamber fell 9-1 in the fifth game. The match secured the Crimson victory and ran Harvard's all-time winning streak over Penn to 23. "I'd say it was one of the toughest matches I've ever played, mentally and physically. I was so focused and so into the game," Bamber said. "It was really rewarding because I played well and it was nice to have worked so hard and to have really performed on the day." In the end, the Crimson's depth -- second to none according to Penn sophomore Megan Fuller -- was too much to overcome. The Quakers were only able to win one match in spots five through nine. "I'm not sure why we lost. It might be due to a lack of individual practice or a lack of individual focus on the day, combined with all the pressure and noise," Patrizio said. "It's just not easy to be prepared every single day." Unfortunately for the Quakers, they did not have much time to feel sorry for themselves. They were immediately thrown back into the fire on Sunday against Dartmouth. Throughout the season the team has had little trouble against the teams they were predicted to beat, and, true to form, the Big Green did not provide much of a challenge. Despite the fact that No. 1 Patrick was out with a 102-degree fever, the Quakers faced little adversity on their way to a 9-0 victory, winning all but two matches 3-0. "I was a little worried that we would be emotionally flat because [the Harvard match] took so much out of us," Penn coach Demer Holleran said. "I was really happy that everyone came out and played hard. They really rose to the occasion." Coming into this season, the Quakers were hoping to break free of the heavy hand of the past and finally reach No.1, but for the fourth consecutive year it seems that the team will have to settle into their comfortable No. 3 spot, right behind Princeton and Harvard. "It was really exciting. I was very proud of our team," Holleran said. "They spilled their guts out on the court, and that is something we have talked about all year." The sad fact remains, however, that Penn's best once again just was not enough to get them over the hump. Had the Quakers pulled off the win, they would have finished in a three-way tie for first, as Harvard defeated previously undefeated Princeton on Sunday.