After falling to Princeton 7-2 in the opening round of the Howe Cup, the fifth-seeded Penn women's squash team rebounded nicely, winning its final two matches of the year for a fifth-place finish in the tournament.
The Quakers routed eighth-seeded Williams 9-0 on Saturday to earn a rematch with sixth-seeded Dartmouth, whom they beat 5-4 two weeks ago in Hanover, N.H.
This time, however, the result was never in doubt, as Penn took advantage of the neutral Boston site to take home a 7-2 victory over the Big Green.
"We were not as happy with such a close win," junior co-captain Radhika Ahluwalia said. "We were hungry for a more decisive win. We proved ourselves again today."
While the Quakers will not move up in the rankings after the loss to the Tigers, the victory over No. 6 Dartmouth did help solidify their No. 5 ranking.
"This was a great way to end the season," junior co-captain Paula Pearson said. "We ended up sixth last year and one spot better is definitely an improvement."
Pearson led the effort against Princeton on Friday, winning her match 3-0 over Casey Riley. Sophomore Lauralynn Drury had the only other victory for Penn on the day.
In its previous match against Princeton, Penn fell 6-3.
"In order for us to make the jump to beating one of the top four teams, we're going to have to develop a real hatred for losing," Penn coach Jack Wyant said. "They looked like they wanted it a little more than we did."
Although Penn could not manage an upset over the weekend, the results are still an improvement over the previous season, when Penn lost to Dartmouth 7-2 at the Howe Cup en route to a sixth-place finish.
"Overall I'm extremely pleased with the dedication of the players, with the work ethic, the team chemistry and the progress they've made," Penn coach Jack Wyant said.
The Quakers should fare even better next season; they graduate no one among the starting nine.
Penn was able to move up to fifth in the rankings this season due to a strong freshman class. Next year, the team hopes to build off that success.
"Because we don't lose anybody, because we have a strong class coming in, we'll have a good chance to crack the top four," Wyant said.
Still, it won't be an easy task to overtake the top squads.
"We're going to have to put in a lot of hard work between now and then," he added.
