M. Squash has no trouble dismantling Navy

If the members of the Penn men's squash team were jet-lagged after returning from London Sunday during last night's match against Navy, they certainly didn't show it. Instead, the No. 7 Quakers (2-2, 1-2 Ivy) put together their most dominating victory of the season, thrashing the Midshipmen, 8-1, at the Ringe Squash Courts. "Everything went pretty well," senior co-captain Sam Miller said, who won his match in the No. 3 slot, 9-3, 9-5, 9-1. "It's nice to win emphatically," Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clarke said, praising his players for "dominating their opponents at home." Thorpe-Clarke cited the team's depth as the "key to our success." "The last couple years, we've had some tough matches with Navy," he added. Penn was also buoyed by a strong performance from its No. 1 player in the ladder, sophomore Richard Repetto. Repetto took the first two games from Navy No. 1 Edson Greenwood, 9-3 and 9-2. That set the stage for Greewood and Repetto -- a high school teammate of Repetto's at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia -- provided a thrilling finish to the evening with Repetto winning the third game, 10-8. "Richard's good at doing that stuff," Thorpe-Clarke said of the final game. "[He] had his hands full." "You can't underestimate his opponent," Thorpe Clark added. "He doesn't necessarily have the firepower, but he's a very committed athlete, a good squash player with good skills." Repetto was somewhat disappointed with his inability to put the match away. "I let up a little bit, let him get back into it," Repetto said. "I took a lot of the pressure off him, started going after shots that I shouldn't have. That's what I can't do." Miller praised his team for sticking to its game plan of winning with tactics instead of strength. "Being more tactical wears down the opponent faster so after the first game, their fitness wears down," he said, adding that his opponent Scott Hackman "was certainly frustrated at the end." "We played better in every department," Thorpe-Clarke said. "The strength didn't become a factor because we had better control and were able to keep them on their heels." Repetto enjoyed the home-court advantage for the team's first match of 2003. "It's a lot warmer on these courts," Repetto said of the difference between Ringe and the English courts. On "the English courts, the ball goes dead, literally." Repetto compared the speed differential to "going from clay to hard courts" in tennis. However, the home-court advantage was diluted somewhat by a considerable number of vocal Navy fans at the match. "Last year when we went there, it was packed with those kinds of people," Repetto said. "You really just have to tune that stuff out." "They get pretty excited about going out and supporting one another," Thorpe-Clarke said of the Midshipmen faithful. "We're getting a more knowledgeable fan to the games, rather than a loud one," he added. Penn's only loss on the night came from freshman Colby Emerson. The Seattle native was playing in the No. 2 slot, the highest position he has played in his career at Penn. "He's done well in challenge matches, and he's earned that right," said Thorpe-Clarke of his promising young player. "He's talented, he's worked hard." "It's a good experience," Emerson said, who played one of the evening's two matches on the main court. "It wasn't that intimidating, but I've never been in that position before," he added. Tomorrow, the team will prepare for Saturday's matches at the Ringe Squash Courts against No. 16 Amherst and No. 11 Bowdoin. "This is the start of an important phase for us," Thorpe Clarke said. Amherst and Bowdoin "are both pretty tough. We should be stronger."

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