M. Squash splits Ivy League matches over the weekend

Winless no more.

After being thumped, 8-1, at Ivy League-leading Yale on Saturday, the Penn men's squash team managed to pull off its first win of the season, narrowly defeating Brown, 5-4, on Sunday at Ringe Court.

"We knew Yale would be tough but we played pretty well," Penn (1-3) freshman Drew Crockett said. "We built off of Saturday and took that momentum into Sunday."

In the loss to the nation's No.3 ranked team, Yale, Penn's only match victory came from freshman Richard Repetto.

The Quakers' lone bright spot this season, No.1 Repetto, boasts a 4-0 record in match play.

"It feels good [to be playing well]," he said. "The other guys are doing a good job, too."

In the unfortunate thrashing at Yale (2-0), Crockett and freshman Sean Lambert were the only others Quakers to win sets.

"[Yale] is just a very deep team," Repetto said. "Everyone had a tough match."

Against Brown, in the battle of the Ivy basement -- after the loss to Penn, the Bears are 0-3 overall, with all matches coming against Ancient Eight foes -- Repetto was once again brilliant, and this time his victory was not in vain.

Following wins by Crockett, sophomore Jason Lam and freshman Jon Katz, the stage was set for junior Elan Levy.

With a 9-1 victory in the fifth set, Levy sealed Penn's first win of the year.

"I think it was great for Elan to get that victory for us," Repetto said. "He's the hard worker on the team. He's good on the clutch."

Other Quakers shared Repetto's view.

"It's a great way to end before we go on break," Crockett added. "[We've learned] we can't take anyone lightly."

The Quakers now have a little over a month until their next match against Denison at Yale on Jan. 12.

With such a young team, the Quakers are hoping to use the break to continue honing their skills and to stay sharp with the bulk of their Ivy League matches forthcoming.

"It's tough because we have a month off," Crockett said. "It's up to us to practice against each other and keep fit when we go home, so when we come back, we're at the same point endurance-wise and at our peak performance-wise."

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