M. Squash earns first victory under new coach

The Quakers split two weekend matches, losing to Yale but rebounding to beat Brown. Forty days and 40 nights, as Noah would be sure to tell you, is a long time to have a bitter taste in your mouth. If the Penn men's squash team had dropped its match against Brown this past Sunday, the Quakers(1-2, 1-2 Ivy League) would have had to wait just that long -- until January 13 -- to try to secure their first victory of the season against Denison. Thankfully for the Quakers, however, they were able to squeak out a 5-4 victory over the Bears (0-3, 0-3) at the Ringe Squash Courts early Sunday afternoon, putting a stop to their winless ways. The showdown was a veritable barnburner, as three of the nine matches went the maximum five games, and five others were decided in four. The win also marked the first victory for first-year Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clark. "I like to think of it as a very key point in the season," freshman Elan Levy said. "It was our first win, so it definitely helped us going into winter break." Penn's weekend was a busy one. The Quakers not only played Brown, but also faced Yale (1-0, 1-0) the previous afternoon. The Elis, who finished last season ranked No. 3 in the nation, were much tougher than the Bears. Penn junior Jamie White, who plays at the No. 1 spot, was able to make quick work of his Yale counterpart Peter Grote in three games, but he was the only Quaker to notch a win. Despite the 8-1 final tally in favor of Yale, some Quakers were still pleased with their effort against the Elis. "Really, it wasn't as bad as it looks," Levy said. "In reality, we played a ton of matches really close. They're a team that's right up there with the best in the country." Although Yale and Penn were not exactly neck-and-neck, Penn did show definite signs of promise. At the No. 3 position, sophomore Roberto Kriete took what looked like a commanding 2-0 lead against Robert Gilpin but proceeded to lose the next three against the Elis standout. Levy encountered similar fate in the No. 8 slot, as Joe Cohen rallied from a 2-0 deficit to steal a 3-2 win. "Yale was fine," Penn junior co-captain Peter Withstandley said. "We fought pretty hard, and we had some pretty well-played matches. We did come up short in some places that hurt us." The Quakers quickly recovered from their loss to Yale and came out fresh the next day against a Brown squad with which they were evenly matched. Penn's top two got the job done in relatively convincing fashion against the Bears. Both White and Withstandley dispensed with their opposite numbers in four games. The Quakers faltered somewhat at No. 3 and No. 4, as Kriete and Mukund Khaitan lost to Bears in five-game matches. The bottom four of the Quakers' lineup clinched the Penn victory. Senior co-captain Andrew Hopkins turned in a 3-1 besting of Robert Park in the No. 6 slot; Penn No. 7 Vikramjit Singh blanked David Pun in his first-ever Quakers win; and Levy provided the narrow margin of victory in the fateful ninth spot. The win ensures a much more enjoyable break for the Red and Blue. The Quakers do not have another competition until they face Denison, and the team members do not need to return to Philadelphia until January 9.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.