Without stars, W. Squash might struggle

Penn's mighty has fallen.

Two years removed from a national championship, the Penn women's squash team is staring at a year of rebuilding.

The 2001-02 Quakers will start the year with a new head coach and without its top two players.

All-American Runa Reta, Penn's best player last year, is spending the semester abroad and will not be available to play until the spring semester, a month into the season. And in an unplanned setback, the team's No. 2, Dafna Wegner, is out indefinitely with a leg injury.

The team scheduled its easier matches toward the beginning of the season, so that Reta and Wagner should be available for the tougher portion of the schedule.

Even when Penn's top two players return to the lineup, though, this season still looks to be a year of transition.

The Quakers graduated many key contributors from last year's squad, including three all-Ivy League players.

Adding to the transition is a new coach, James Martel, who in August took over for nine-year coach Demer Holleran.

Under Holleran, the Quakers won the 1999-2000 NCAA championship. Martel will be just the third head coach in team history.

Martel arrives at Penn with considerable sports and squash experience.ÿHe played baseball and was recruited by Penn to play ice hockey before deciding to attend Northeastern.

The coach is attempting to bring a new, drill-heavy practice style to the team, which is different from years past.ÿHe wants to instill in the younger players the fundamentals of squash, such as racquet preparation and footwork.

"A lot of these players played a couple of sports in high school," Martel said, "and they need to get their minds straight on squash."

The veteran players note a major difference is style between Martel and Holleran.

"They have different attitudes on fitness, training and commitment," sophomore Katie Fetter said.ÿ"It would have been nice to have a little more continuity."

Wegner also noted the complete contrast in styles between the two coaches, but thinks that this might turn out to be a positive.

"It's good to see a different approach to squash and fitness," Wegner said.

For much of the team, which is comprised of only three upperclassmen, the contrast in the two styles will make little difference.

The teams' current No. 1 is a freshman, Linda McNair, who has been thrust into the role due to graduation and injuries.ÿShe will be followed in the team rankings by fellow freshman Rohini Gupta.

Martel feels that having the freshmen move up in the rankings and playing difficult matches should help them and the team in the long run.

In spite of these setbacks, Martel expects that the team will be able to finish in the middle of the Ivy League.ÿHe feels that when Reta and Wegner return to action, they will complement the freshmen to form a dangerous combination.

"We're going to be a tough team to defeat once we get to the end of the season," Martel said.

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