Tonight's match against Princeton will be a significant change from any the Quakers have played in nearly two months.
The No. 5 women's squash team has dominated all but one of its opponents thus far this season, with its sole loss coming at the hands of No. 1-ranked and defending champion Yale.
Since their Dec. 3 match against the Elis, however, the Quakers (7-1, 2-1 Ivy) have not played any team ranked in the top six. Of Penn's next four opponents, none rank any lower than sixth.
If the Quakers hope to finish near the top of the Ivy League this winter, they will need to pull off a couple of upsets, starting with the No. 4 Tigers (3-0, 2-0 Ivy) tonight at Ringe Courts.
"This is make or break time for the season," Penn coach Jack Wyant said. "Princeton's ahead of us in the rankings. We're just going to go out there and play our best and enjoy our last home match of the year."
Last season the Quakers didn't even manage to win one game in their match against the Tigers. Unlike tonight's match, however, that loss came at the Tigers' home court in Princeton, N.J.
Wyant hopes that having the match at home will be a crucial advantage, especially because his team is a young one.
"It's our last home match," junior co-captain Radhika Ahluwalia said. "We've been peaking for this match."
Last weekend, Penn played in the Constable Invitational, an individual tournament held in Princeton.
Although some Penn women faced players from Princeton over the weekend, Wyant said that they couldn't get a good read on the Tigers' players because, coming off finals, the matchups were likely not the same as they will be tonight.
One notable difference from previous years is that, tonight, only the women will face off against the Tigers. In recent years, the men's and women's teams have played Princeton the same day. This year the men will play the Tigers next week.
"I think it'll be nice because we get the courts all to ourselves," Wyant said. "It's our show."
Penn hopes to pull off its sixth straight victory when the match against its main rival gets under way at 6:30 p.m.
"We've all been looking forward to this match all season as we do every year," junior co-captain Paula Pearson said.
Like any competition against Princeton, "it will be exciting no matter what," she added.
