Rarely do teams like to look past the game in front of them on their schedule.
However, there are exceptions.
After roaring to a fast start against Franklin & Marshall on Sunday, shutting the Diplomats out, 9-0, the Penn women's squash team (1-0) looks to repeat its success this afternoon against Haverford College at the Ringe Courts.
But with the fourth-ranked Quakers' historic success against their intrastate rivals, Penn coach Jim Martel views the match against the Fords as a chance to hone the Quakers' skills before playing Ivy League rival Cornell and the much-improved University of Toronto this Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y.
"We're looking forward to the weekend match[es]," Martel said.
Haverford finished last season 23rd out of 32 teams in the College Squash Association rankings.
There is always a danger in looking past less-acclaimed opponents, but sophomore Morgan Olson is confident that the Red and Blue are prepared to play against Haverford.
"I think the team's definitely looking forward to Cornell and Toronto because they'll be more challenging matches," Olson said. "But we're definitely not looking past Haverford."
Martel plans on using a similar lineup to the one he played against Franklin & Marshall. Against the Diplomats, Penn fielded mostly sophomores with two juniors and a freshman. Penn's two All-Americans Linda McNair and Dafna Wegner will likely rest again.
This way, Martel says, some of the Quakers who normally do not travel with the team have a chance to compete on a varsity level.
Against the Fords, Martel hopes the Quakers can work on improving several areas, most notably their serve and return of serve. By controlling the pace of the point from the outset, Martel believes that the Red and Blue can win points by being on the attack from the start.
"You can be in an offensive position from the get-go," Martel said.
Olson agreed, saying that her biggest weakness is her backhand return.
The first real test for the Quakers comes on Saturday, but today's match is just as important for their season in the long run. The players and coaches believe that early-season matches are a chance to build confidence and work on technical aspects of their game that need improvement.
Assuming the Quakers don't focus too much on the Big Red against Haverford, don't expect this afternoon's match to hurt that confidence.
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