This weekend's Ivy League scrimmage will be telling for the Penn men's squash team.
"It's going to be the first sign of how much we have actually improved from last year," sophomore No. 1 Rich Repetto said. "Although it doesn't really count for anything, it will let us know where we stand in the Ivy League. It will also let us know what we need to work on. Match situations reveal things that practice can't."
Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clark will travel with his team to New Haven, Conn., hoping that his pre-season preparation will serve the squad well this weekend.
The weekend's events will begin with a series of exhibition team matches on Saturday followed by individual matches on Sunday.
The preseason No.11 Quakers -- who graduated two seniors, co-captain John Griffin and former No. 3 Roberto Kriete -- welcomed seven freshmen and one transfer to the team this year.
Three of the Quakers' newcomers will travel with the Quakers this weekend to Yale -- freshmen Jacob Himelrich and Colby Emerson and sophomore Eric Bardiwald.
This year's team will bring more experience to the court for the Quakers, who finished last year at 7-8 and finished second in the Hoehn (B) Division of the NISRA Team Championships.
"In the Ivy League we'll be able to compete more than in the past," sophomore Drew Crockett said. "We have a solid core of guys that has much more match experience than last year, which should set us up to perform well in the beginning."
Repetto -- a first team NISRA All-American selection last season -- will lead Penn's core group of players this season. He currently holds a preseason No. 10 national ranking, after finishing last season with a record of 14-3.
Repetto realizes that this weekend's matches will foreshadow the remainder of the season.
"The Ivy League scrimmage will be a sign of how difficult this year will be for me. All of the freshmen coming into the league and the college ranks are really strong," he said. "This weekend will give me an idea of what I need to do to play like a beast again this year."
After this weekend's exhibition matches, the entire Penn squad will need to play like beasts if they hope to emerge victorious from their first match.
The Quakers will welcome Cornell to the Ringe Squash Courts on Nov. 23 to open their season.
The Big Red are currently ranked No. 5 in the NISRA preseason poll.
"Cornell has really improved from last year," Repetto said. "With some time and hard practice we have a definite chance to earn the upset."
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