The men and women's squash teams have high expectations for the upcoming season; their quests to satisfy them begin tomorrow when they take on Cornell at Ringe Courts.
The No. 4 women and No. 6 men open their seasons against the Big Red, whose men and women's teams are both ranked ninth in the preseason polls.
While the Quakers are favored in both contests, they are aware of the danger in underestimating their foes.
"It doesn't matter who you play, you have to do your best in every match," senior Gilly Lane said. "They're still an Ivy opponent and we have to prepare like they're the best."
Both teams opened their seasons in Ithaca, N.Y., last year, and both emerged victorious. The men took a 7-2 victory, while the women dominated the Big Red, 9-0, with a perfect 3-0 score at every flight.
Women's coach Jack Wyant, while confident in the Quakers' abilities, is ensuring that they continue to work hard and not allow Cornell to pull off the upset.
"If we play to our potential, then we can duplicate [last year's] effort," he said. "But if we're sloppy, if we don't prepare properly, then anything can happen."
Both coaches cited a number of factors that work in their favor, including what they believe to be a top-to-bottom talent advantage. The men's team returns All-Americans Lane and junior Lee Rosen, while the women boast three All-Americans on the roster in senior co-captains Radhika Ahluwalia and Paula Pearson as well as sophomore Alisha Turner.
Men's coach Craig Thorpe-Clark pinpointed his team's experience as well, citing that Cornell graduated seven seniors last year.
"They have a lot of freshmen," he said. "I'm hoping my players will take advantage of the freshmen, in an athletic sense, and be the dominant players."
Despite their high ranking, the Penn women's team is also full of freshmen, including Kristen Lange and Sydney Scott, who played at the Nos. 1 and 2 slots during the Red and Blue's victory over Yale and Princeton at the Ivy Scrimmages last weekend. However, the match against Cornell will be their first in the regular season.
While Wyant recognizes that Lange and Scott, along with fellow freshmen Britt Hebden and Christina Matthias, will be slightly nervous, the coach remains optimistic in the ability of the entire team. He is excited to start the season at home.
"I'm hopeful that we'll have a lot of people down at the courts to see if we're as good as the preseason rankings indicate," he said.
