Though the Penn women's squash team is ranked No. 1, coach Jack Wyant isn't finding it lonely at the top.
On Sunday, his team defeated No. 3 Trinity 6-3, with all of the losses coming at the top three flights. On Monday, he found that No. 5 Princeton had beaten the Bantams in exactly the same fashion.
Suffice it to say there's little separating the Quakers (6-0, 3-0 Ivy) and Tigers (4-0, 2-0 ) - at least in terms of talent - as they come in to their annual meeting tonight.
"It's going to come down to the team that deals with the situation the best," Wyant said. "Obviously, there'll be some pressure. But I think the team that has the most composure and that relishes the moment will likely prevail."
He added that despite the importance of the match, his team's routine hadn't changed.
Both squads have seen flawless performances this year from the fourth flight down - none of them have dropped a match. In the end, the top three flights may be the difference.
In last year's meeting, Radhika Ahluwalia and Paula Pearson picked up wins for Penn at Nos. 2 and 3. There's a good chance both need to win their matches for the Quakers to pull away.
Pearson, one of three seniors who is getting her last shot at the Tigers, said she would "absolutely love" a team win. But she is coming off a difficult five-game loss at No. 3 to Trinity's Ashley Clackson.
Fortunately for Pearson, her potential opponent, Amanda Siebert, also lacks momentum - she also dropped a five-game match to Clackson despite holding leads of 1-0 and 2-1.
Princeton could have the most talented and experienced player on its side. Senior Claire Rein-Weston, who closed out last year as the 12th-best player in the land, is back playing at No. 1.
She too was robbed by a Trinity top-flighter on Monday, losing a five-game match despite dropping only one point in games two and three combined.
While Penn isn't as far ahead of its rivals as the rankings suggest, this year's picture is an improvement over recent history. The Red and Blue haven't beaten Princeton since 2000, when Penn beat Harvard, Yale and Princeton to win the national championship.
The best result under Wyant's tenure has been 6-3 loss at Ringe Courts last year.
"We'd love to have a win over Princeton under our belts before we graduate," said senior Radhika Ahluwalia, whose class has lost to the Tigers by a score of 24-3 over its three years.
Even Wyant, who was a three-year captain at Princeton and helped it to a national title during his playing days, couldn't conceal the personal importance of the game.
"Coming to work is always fun, but it's a little bit more fun when you know you have a team that can play with anybody out there," he began.
"That's how I would answer that question," he finally smirked. "You can read between the lines if you want."
