The numbers did not lie this weekend for the Penn men's squash team.
The Quakers (3-1, 2-1 Ivy), ranked fourth nationally, fell to No. 3 Yale (1-0, 1-0) on Saturday, 7-2, but cleanly swept No. 13 Brown (0-2, 0-2) on Sunday, 9-0.
Although all faith may be lost in college football's BCS system, it seems as if the ranking system for college squash actually does work.
Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clark cited the College Squash Association's ranking system to explain his team's fate in New England this past weekend.
"We weren't under any pressure" against Brown, Thorpe-Clark said of Sunday's match. "We controlled the rallies and we were the ones at the tee."
Against Yale, however, the opposite prevailed for the Quakers.
The Bulldogs came into their first match of the season with the mental advantage of having a higher rank and proved their legitimacy by taking seven matches from Penn.
In this case, the competition was actually much closer than the numbers reveal.
Penn sophomore Ben Ende and junior Jacob Himmelrich, ranked fourth and fifth on the ladder respectively, may not have captured victories, but they did make their opponents truly earn theirs.
Ende came out strong with a 9-5 win in his first game against Moshe Sarfaty, but let it slip away as he lost his next three. Himmelrich fared somewhat better, winning his second and fourth games, but was unable to hold on as he went down 9-5 in the fifth and deciding game.
Senior Richard Repetto and freshman Lee Rosen were the only victors for the Quakers.
The loss was Penn's first of the season, but, as was exemplified Sunday, should not affect the team's current trend of outstanding play.
Thorpe-Clark stressed his confidence in his team and praised their performance in spite of the unfavorable result.
"It's not a failure on our part by any means," Thorpe-Clark said. "Sometimes you get caught up in thinking things are only going well when you win."
While there may have been little doubt, any concern about the Quakers' ability was put to rest the following day as they demolished an inferior Brown team.
The Quakers expected to easily triumph over the Bears, but still viewed the match as a chance to solidify their position in the Ivy League and give the opposition a reason to worry.
"We want to have a good Ivy League record," Thorpe-Clark said. "The deal on Sunday was to be the aggressor."
With six Quakers sweeping their opponents in three games, Penn certainly proved its ability to dominate a lower-ranked team.
While the comparisons in rank can explain the Quakers' results this past weekend, approaching a match against a higher-ranked team had not been a problem for Penn earlier in this season.
Entering with a No. 7 preseason rank, the Quakers took down No. 6 Cornell, 7-2, in their season-opener on Nov. 20.
The Cornell match was an important victory for Thorpe-Clark both because it was his first-ever win over the Big Red in his six years at Penn and it allowed the Quakers to move up in the national rankings.
Armed with a 3-1 record and an optimistic attitude, Thorpe-Clark looks forward to Jan. 12 as the Quakers take on Navy and try to solidify their status as one of the country's top squash teams.
Yale 7, PENN 2
1. Illingworth (Y) def. Lane (P) 3-0
2. Repetto (P) def Schwartz (Y) 3-2
3. Rosen (P) def. Nick Chirls (Y) 3-0
4. Sarfaty (Y) def. Ende (P) 3-1
5. Cumberbatch (Y) def. Himmelrich (P) 3-2
6. Chiu (Y) def. Kurn (P) 3-0
7. Geva (Y) def. Bardawil (P) 3-0
8. Wyant (Y) def. Emerson (P) 3-0
9. Tilton (Y) def. Crockett (P) 3-0
PENN 9, Brown 0
1. Lane (P) def. Petrie (B) 3-0
2. Repetto (P) def. Bailey (B) 3-1
3. Rosen (P) def. Cerullo (B) 3-2
4. Ende (P) def. O'Boyle (B) 3-0
5. Himmelrich (P) def. Whipple (B) 3-0
6. Kurn (P) def. Beidler (B) 3-0
7. Bardawil (P) def. Haynes (B) 3-0
8. Emerson (P) def. Goldberg (B) 3-2
9. Bassett (P) def. Hall 3-0
