The Penn men's squash team knows not to let a shutout get to them - especially at the hands of a team with a 156-match winning streak.
The Quakers have not hit many bumps this season, accruing a record of 7-1. But even after a shutout at the hands of No. 1 Trinity, high expectations are set for Penn's rivalry match against No. 3 Princeton.
This is the Tigers' first match in over a month due to their exam break. Last time out, on Dec. 8th-10th, the squad came in third at the Five-Man championships.
And prior to that, the Tigers stomped through the competition, winning twice by 9-0 scores.
However, while Princeton players were hitting the books, the Quakers were able to move up in the rankings from No. 6 to No. 4 after their win over Yale. They have also had individual players significantly improve their games.
"The win over Yale was a reward to the team's hard work and dedication," head coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "It was a commitment to keep improving."
Thorpe-Clark says that the loss against Trinity will not affect the team's confidence, but give them more experience in upper-level matches.
"We competed better than the scores indicated," Thorpe-Clark said. "We didn't like losing, but we took what we could out of playing the best team in the college level."
Leading the team, senior Gilly Lane has proven that he is one of the best national players and intends to play professionally after graduating.
"Gilly is going to have an exciting career as a professional squash player," Thorpe-Clark said. "He is now the top-ranked player and will just get better in time because he is still pretty young so he has a lot of room for improvement and growth."
Playing at the No. 1 slot for the Quakers, Lane held a winning record on the season before losing to Trinity's Shaun Johnstone last weekend.
"It was a rough loss but at the same time we realized what we were up against," Lane said. "Everyone played really hard and got a lot of good experience that we can use for the match tomorrow."
Partner in crime Ben Ende is not only a co-captain with Lane, but has held his own this season, ranking No. 3 on the team.
"Both captains are experienced seniors and leaders playing high up on the team," Thorpe-Clark said. "They are mature and responsible - they set a great example on and off the court."
Another important player to the team is junior Lee Rosen, who last weekend scored the most of any Penn player against his opponent, Baset Chaundhry from Trinity. Rosen is also expected to be a key player in the matches against Princeton playing No. 2 for the Quakers.
The team has high hopes for the matches today, giving Thorpe-Clark a good feeling as well.
"Tomorrow we have got a really good chance to pull off a big win," Thorpe-Clark said. "The ball is in our court and we have the momentum and experience to win it. We are looking forward to it."
