W. Squash rolls over opponents

The freshmen on the women's squash team may not have a lot of collegiate squash under their belts, but don't try to tell them that they aren't experienced.

The Quakers pulled out two 9-0 victories against the No. 12 Bowdoin Polar Bears and the No. 10 Bates Bobcats in New Haven, Conn. on Saturday. More surprising, perhaps, is that they dominated so thoroughly with a young lineup that included four freshmen.

Among those four was Alisha Turner, who -- according to coach Jack Wyant -- "took apart" Bowdoin captain and former All-American Niki Clement. Turner has relished her role in the No. 1 flight, a spot she has occupied since returning from winter break.

"I feel like I have as much experience as [older players] from junior squash and international competition, but not so much in college squash," Turner said. "I think playing from No. 1 is helping that experience a lot."

Even though the Polar Bears and Bobcats may not be the toughest teams around, this weekend's matches served as good in-game practice not just for the young players but for the entire Penn team.

"I thought the matches were a good tuneup," Wyant said. "What we've tried to do is get to a number of matches where we'll be pushed a little bit prior to the schools that are ahead of us in the rankings."

Freshman Emily Goodwin -- who won 3-0 from the No. 7 flight to remain undefeated for the season -- agrees with her coach's assessment of the weekend.

"We're really focused on improving our game without the added pressure of trying to win," she said. "We couldn't have done any better."

Freshmen like Goodwin and Turner have been integral to the team's success, and their coach has not hesitated to provide them with an equal opportunity to vie for spots in the top nine. Wyant has allowed his players to compete against each other in what Wyant called "challenge matches" to determine each week's seeding.

This allowed Goodwin and Turner to make smooth jumps up the ladder but could just as easily drop them down again.

Junior captain Paula Pearson, for instance, will play Turner this week to determine who will hold the top spot at the Constable Invitational next weekend.

Wyant points to this interchangeability as a sign of parity and depth, and as a key to the Red and Blue's success.

"You can tell by the scores [that Bowdoin and Bates] didn't have the depth we have," he said. "Any one of the players [on our team] from the number one all the way down could beat each other on any given day."

Even with future lineup shuffles a distinct possibility, the Quakers do not seem worried about finding their groove.

Turner's personal goal seemed to best sum up the team's viewpoint: "I'm just going to try to go out there and win at any position I'm playing."

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