Junior Lane the key to success for M. Squash

Since the end of his freshman season in 2003-04, All-American squash player Gilly Lane has climbed the individual ranks from No. 18 to No. 7. More importantly, he has taken the Penn team with him.

The Quakers finished the 2002-03 season No. 11 in the nation and have since moved up to No. 5 in this year's pre-season rankings.

Few would debate that Lane has been a major contributor to this improvement. After Lane, who is now a junior, was named an All-American as a freshman and sophomore, it is likely that Coach Craig Thorpe-Clark and the rest of the Quakers were not surprised by the team's recent ascent.

Others in the college squash community, however, might be surprised by the success of a solely American team.

Indeed, the most noticeable feature of the roster is the lack of foreign-born players. For a sport with overseas roots and whose top 95 professional male players in the world does not include a single American, many may have thought the Quakers were in trouble.

But Lane has proved to be a more-than-capable leader, even as a young player. Having his family and childhood friends living less than a half-hour away from the Penn campus is particularly special for him in such an international sport. Players come from nations all over the world -- including Israel, Trinidad and Tobago and Pakistan -- to play Ivy League squash.

"It's nice that my family gets to watch me play," Lane said. "My friends can come see me play. ... The most special part is that my parents haven't missed a match."

Family values may not play a crucial role in the game of squash, but Thorpe-Clark would probably agree that Lane has entered college athletics with the right kind of character.

"I think the qualities he brings as an individual help the whole team," Thorpe-Clark said. "If you get one person, and their desire and input can be infectious. They help everyone get the best out of their games."

For the next two seasons, Lane will be that person.

If the Quakers want to continue to improve and challenge the top teams, they will need Lane to be a leader on and off the court.

"He's certainly an inspirational kind of person," Thorpe-Clark said. "This comes across in his squash and his motivating people."

Even though he was the top-ranked Penn player the past two seasons, this is the first year Lane has been elected captain by his peers. With this position comes added responsibility, a task that Lane is prepared to take on.

"I just feel like the last two years I wanted to lead by example, leading by play," Lane said. "This year [I want to be] a better vocal leader.

"It's my job and [fellow captain] Jacob Himmelrich's job to get us where we need to be. It comes back to the leaders of this team."

Even in this young season, Lane has felt a tinge of accountability after the Red and Blue dropped an easy match two weeks ago.

"We hit a little speed bump in the loss to Western [Ontario]," Lane said. "I definitely feel if we have a loss it depends on myself. We didn't help the younger guys as much."

This weekend Lane and the Quakers look to rebound in a home stand against Franklin & Marshall and Ivy League rivals Yale and Brown, ranked No. 4 and No. 9, respectively.

"I can't see us doing anything but getting better," Lane said.

If the captain's outlook is any indicator, things may be going Penn's way from here on out.

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