M. Squash looks to claw past Tigers

The Penn men's squash team has lived up to its potential thus far this season, as the Quakers carry a winning record and are riding a four-game winning streak. Penn (6-3, 1-2 Ivy League) will look to continue its winning ways tonight when the Quakers travel to New Jersey to take on perennial Ivy powerhouse Princeton (4-0, 1-0). Because of a post-Winter Break finals schedule unique to only Princeton and Harvard in the Ancient Eight, the Tigers have not played a match since the second week of December. A well-rested and always dangerous Princeton team, then, should prove to be a formidable opponent for the Red and Blue. The latest national rankings have Penn slotted as the 11th-best team in the nation, while Princeton is ranked third -- behind only the Crimson and Trinity, respectively. Princeton, the defending Ivy League champion, has an experienced lineup headed by sophomore and New Zealand native Will Evans. Its roster also boasts 1999 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Peter Kelly. Evans and Kelly were each selected as second-team All-Americans last season. The Quakers, who have recorded doubleheader sweeps each of the last two weekends, will look to stymie these two stellar performers and the rest of the Tigers tonight. Penn earned those sweeps with shutouts of Amherst and Rochester on January 20 and victories over Colby and Bowdoin on Saturday. "Cleary we're up against [a tough team], but we have momentum from good matches lately," Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "Ivy matches are the ones that guys are willing to spill blood for." Leading the way for the Quakers is No. 1 player Peter Withstandley, who paces the team with seven victories in nine matches. He will place his six-game win streak on the line tonight against Evans. "I played Evans in a scrimmage earlier this year," Withstandley said. "He has fantastic shots, but he's not known for his conditioning. I will have to keep him running to get him tired." The Quakers will also need a strong performance from the rest of their lineup. Hopes for a Penn upset rest on the Red and Blue's young foundation. "We're pretty deep, and the younger guys at the bottom should match up well," Penn freshman Dan Rottenberg said. Penn also benefits from the return of junior Roberto Kriete, who came back to Penn after studying abroad last semester. Since returning for the match against Navy on January 17, Kriete has posted a 3-2 record near the top of the lineup. "It's great to have Roberto back (from Italy)," Thorpe-Clark said. "He became very focused while abroad and has made a strong commitment to squash." Facing one of the best programs in the country will be a test of will for the young Quakers. The team hopes to use tonight's match as a learning experience to prepare for the remainder of the season. "Princeton will be fun in the sense that everyone will be playing a great player," Penn sophomore Sam Miller said. "We have depth in our lineup and could pull off some upsets. "We have nothing to lose."

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