The No. 5 Penn women's squash team does not have to worry about putting its 7-0 record on the line tomorrow at Princeton's Constable Tournament, but the event holds much weight for its individual players.
The tournament will be of no less significance to the Quakers than any other competition would, as the players are still playing for position in the Individuals at the end of the season, as well as All-American status.
The tournament, which starts today and continues through the weekend, consists of five skill divisions each containing at least two of the Quakers' 13 participants.
The weekend's premier event is the 16-player Constable division for the field's highest ranked players. Junior captain Linda McNair and freshmen Radhika Ahluwalia and Paula Pearson will represent the Red and Blue.
The other groups are numbered based on players' past performances. To the 5.5 level -- the second highest flight -- Penn will send freshman Annie Barrett and sophomore Rhea Bhandare. Junior Rohini Gupta and sophomores Missy Cosgrave and Lorin Riley will play at 4.5, while sophomores Elizabeth Evans, Colleen Gurda and Tyler Pearce will compete in the Black division of the 3.5 ranking.
However, the division with an intriguing potential matchup is the 3.5 Orange division, which features Penn junior Caitlin O'Neil seeded first and sophomore Morgan Olson seeded third.
O'Neil and Olson play regularly together in practice and O'Neil looks forward to a possible match against her teammate.
"That should be a fun match if we face up against each other," O'Neil said.
O'Neil has missed the last two Constable Tournaments, but is in a great position to win her first.
"She has a good chance," said Penn coach Jim Martel, who may see several pairs of his players square off this weekend.
However, rivalries between teammates will not be the only ones continuing at the tournament. The Constable division is filled with players that meet consistently atop their team ladders.
"The top-16 girls are ones I play with all the time," said McNair, who may face top-seeded Trinity senior Amina Helal, who defeated Penn's Runa Reta in the finals of last year's Constable Tournament.
Despite the tournament's focus on individual play, O'Neil is still taking a team approach this weekend.
"I try to keep the same outlook," she said. "You're still representing Penn."
The format of the tournament entails a main bracket and consolation rounds, guaranteeing each player three matches in what should be an important tune-up for a treacherous schedule ahead.
The Quakers still have matches against the nation's top-four teams -- Trinity, Yale, Princeton and Harvard -- as well as No. 6 Dartmouth in what should be an enormous test for the young team.
