Monday night at the Ringe Squash Courts included not only a match between the No. 1 and No. 5 ranked women's squash players in the world but also Penn men's squash team member Richard Repetto pulling down his shorts to bear his "skivvies" for everyone to see.
The Quakers hosted a squash exhibition on Monday night. It was designed to showcase the talent of women's squash around the world and give members of both the Penn and Philadelphia squash communities the opportunity to see the best women's squash players in the world compete.
Penn welcomed the No. 1 ranked women's player in the world, Sarah Fitzgerald, and the No. 5 ranked player in the world, Linda Charman-Smith, to West Philly.
Fitzgerald -- a native Australian and the defending World and British Open Champion -- has won over 50 tournaments worldwide throughout the course of her illustrious career.
Charman-Smith, currently ranked No. 2 in her home country of England, played the first match of the night. Charman-Smith faced off against the Penn women's No. 1, junior, Runa Reta.
Posing a strong fight, Reta was eventually overpowered by Charman-Smith 9-2, 9-6 in a best-of-three match.
After the opening match, the crowd was treated to a co-ed match between Fitzgerald and Penn's No.1 Richard Repetto.
The spirit of the match was jovial and non-competitive. Both Fitzgerald and Repetto cracked jokes at various points throughout the match.
In spite of the friendly nature of the match, Fitzgerald was still able to handily defeat Repetto.
"She was really, really good," Repetto said. "I knew she was going to be good, but [Fitzgerald] kicked my butt."
A 9-2 butt-kicking in the first game that is.
Just when Repetto thought things couldn't get any worse, Fitzgerald shut him out 9-0 in the second game to take the match.
Before serving the final point of the match, Fitzgerald let Repetto and the gallery know the requisite punishment for losing a game, 9-0.
"Back in Australia, when you lose nine-love, especially to a lady, you have to drop your shorts," Fitzgerald said.
Upon losing the final point of the match, Repetto pulled down his small, black shorts to loud hoots and hollers from his teammates and friends in the crowd.
"Standing there in my sweaty boxers was pretty humiliating," Repetto said. "But, hey, she beat me fair and square. What was I supposed to do?"
After beating Repetto, Fitzgerald walked off the court to a raucous ovation from the usually subdued squash crowd.
"He was a good sport to do that," Fitzgerald said. "Things like that help to make exhibitions like this more entertaining for everyone involved."
Once Fitzgerald and Charman-Smith were given a chance to catch their breath, they took the court to face each other -- treating the galley to an hour-long battle between two of the best players in the world.
In a grueling match of wits and skill, Charman ultimately emerged victorious, pulling off a mild upset with a 10-8, 5-9, 10-8 win.
Despite the lack of statistical importance surrounding the evening's events, its competitive flavor coupled with friendly rivalry allowed women's squash to put its best foot forward on Monday night.
At the conclusion of the match, Fitzgerald and Charman-Smith held a question and answer session for fans and players alike.
The two players responded to questions concerning their training methods, career goals and feelings about the future of women's squash in the United States and the world.
"I'd say the night was a success," Repetto said.
Fitzgerald echoed Repetto's thoughts.
"When you are able to have the variety of different matches at an exhibition like this it makes the night enjoyable for everyone."
The events at the Ringe Squash courts on Monday night gave both Philadelphia and Penn a glimpse of the entertainment value of women's squash.
Spectators took witness to a display of squash at the highest level -- a match between two of the top-5 players in the world.
And as a bonus treat, fans were able to see Repetto's shameless humiliation -- nice boxers.
