By Parisa Bastani
Staff Writer
pbastani@sas.upenn.edu
Given Yale's 4-9 record so far this season, the Elis don't seem like they have much to be optimistic about as they approach their first Ivy League contest at Brown on Saturday.
Yale opened the season on a positive note with a win over Allegheny, but then fell into a slump, dropping nine of their next 11 games.
Despite the Elis' struggles against nonconference opponents, coach James Jones has high hopes for the team and will try to get production from a large rotation that has gotten contributions from starters as well as the bench.
"I look at the Ivy League and I watch some of the scores, and it looks to be pretty wide open," Jones said. "Our major strength is our depth, and I think that we have a number of people that can help us in game situations."
Yale only lost two players to graduation last year, including 6-foot-10 center Dominick Martin, that team's leading scorer and rebounder.
Junior guard Eric Flato has emerged as Yale's best offensive weapon, and is leading the team with 14.2 points per game while snagging 26 steals this season. Senior swingman Casey Hughes helps out with his 5.9 rebounds per contest, while scoring 10.3 points per game.
The squad comes into their conference schedule on a high note, after winning their last game, against Longwood.
The 74-62 victory featured a balanced effort from the Elis, with nine players seeing double-digit minutes.
Flato and junior guard Caleb Holmes netted 14 points apiece, while twin brother Nick Holmes came off the bench to chip in 11 points.
6-foot-7 sophomore Ross Morin also scored 11, while pulling down an impressive 14 rebounds.
"I think our record is a little deceiving," Flato said of the team's rough season so far. "We can probably play with and compete with anybody in the league if we come out and play the way we should."
And despite the shaky start, Penn coach Glen Miller is confident Yale will continue a tradition of being one of the tougher Ivy competitors.
"They've been an upper-echelon team for years now, so we expect the same out of them," Miller said. "I think they have enough talent to compete for the championship, so they should be right in the mix."
Yale was one shot away from taking Penn into overtime last year, so being in the mix should give Quakers fans pleny of cause for concern.
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