By michael gulinello
The Penn squash team will not play again until next fall, but junior captain Gilly Lane hopes to be playing with another group this summer: the United States national team.
Last weekend in New Haven, Conn., Lane competed in the SL Green Nationals, a tournament of the top American players, to determine the U.S. national champion.
Lane, who was unseeded, defeated 5-seed Jamie Crombie of Ohio, a veteran squash player who has been a member of the U.S. national team in the past.
Lane reached the quarterfinals of the main draw and ended up with sixth in the tournament.
"My expectations were to just go there and play well," Lane said. "I didn't think I was going to place in the top six."
Penn women's squash coach Jack Wyant also played in the tournament, the fourth time he has done so. Wyant reached the quarterfinals in 1997.
This time, Wyant lost in the opening round but rebounded for eighth place overall.
Lane and Wyant faced off in a consolation match, and Lane won 3-0.
The two are used to playing one another due to their weekly game together at Penn.
This was Lane's first time in the tournament, which players are invited to based on national individual rankings.
The 32-man tournament is the second of five that help determine the national team. In the first tournament, Lane also reached the quarterfinals, but did not play a consolation match to determine his exact position.
The four-player team will be selected in June. The top two after the qualifying tournaments will earn spots on the team. The other two spots will be determined by a playoff among the top finishers.
Lane is in good position to be a part of that playoff.
"Gilly had a big breakthrough at the Intercollegiates and he continues to progress," Wyant said.
"He would be considered an up-and-comer. The national coaches will definitely be aware of him now," he added.
Julian Illingworth, a Yale senior, won the championship. The only game he dropped all weekend was to Lane.
