W. Squash unable to defend national championship

This weekend, the Penn women's squash team put its heart, soul and, at times, its safety on the line. But, despite some of the most inspiring play of the year from the Quakers, the Red and Blue fell short in their bid to repeat as national champions. They lost, 6-3, to Harvard, the eventual champions, in the semifinals of the Howe Cup. The Quakers began the three-day tournament with a 6-3 victory over host Yale. They then lost to the Crimson on Saturday and concluded by falling to Princeton yesterday, 5-4. "It was a very intense, high energy and very competitive three days," Penn senior co-captain Rina Borromeo said. "All of the teams there -- especially the top four -- were just so determined to win. It's unfortunate that some things didn't go our way." After cruising to a win against the Elis -- whom the Quakers defeated in their previous meeting on December 2 by a score of 5-4 -- Penn had what will most likely be remembered as the most controversial match of the season. Although the margin of victory in the Penn-Harvard match increased in Saturday's match (Penn lost 5-4 earlier in the season), the play was much more competitive and, in some cases, less sportsmanlike. In addition to some very physical play, the Quakers fell victim to some controversial calls that worked against them in the end. "Harvard has a long history of being very determined but they can also be very pushy, almost like they have the right to win," Borromeo said. "They're good and scrappy and they did what they needed to do to win." Sophomore Dafna Wegner, playing at the No. 2 position for the Quakers against Crimson co-captain Margaret Elias, put forth the most memorable effort of the weekend. In the fourth game of an already physical match, Elias' racquet hit Wegner squarely in the face, breaking three of her front teeth in half. Despite being clearly shaken, Wegner composed herself and, 10 minutes later, resumed play. She went on to win that game, but eventually lost the match in five. "The match was hard," Wegner said. "I think both of us were really anxious to win, but at the same time, I felt like she would do anything to win. She didn't hit me on purpose, but that just shows the kind of atmosphere it was." In her actions, Wegner inspired not only her teammates and coach, but also the fans watching the match. "She showed unbelievable courage," coach Demer Holleran said. "She played something like 40 more minutes on court after that. It was an amazing effort." "People -- players, fans -- were really touched by her effort. It was just incredible," Borromeo added. The effort of Wegner and her teammates made the weekend worthwhile, leaving the Quakers with nothing to regret. "The two key words of the weekend were effort and courage," Holleran said. "Compared to last week [against the Crimson], it was an incredibly close match. One thing that went right was the effort against Harvard." In the final dual-match competition of their Penn careers, seniors Helen Bamber, Megan Fuller and co-captains Lauren Patrizio and Borromeo finished in dominating style, going a combined 11-1 on the weekend. "Their record this weekend speaks a lot about their play," Holleran said. "In our last team meeting, we noted that experience counts for a lot in this environment and going 11-1 was good leadership." In a banquet held at the end of the tournament for all 28 of the teams competing in the Howe Cup, Borromeo and Patrizio were the last to speak as the co-captains of the 1999-2000 national champions, and perhaps Patrizio's last remark of the evening was the best sentiment to encapsulate the tournament. "The other people that spoke all gave hilarious speeches, but Rina and I gave a very emotional speech. The last line was, 'If you leave your heart on the court, then you'll have a personal victory,'" Patrizio said. "And that is exactly what we did this weekend."

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