At this point last season, both the men and women's squash teams were holding down the status quo, doing nothing exceptional by beating lower-ranked teams and losing to higher-ranked ones.
This time, it's a different story. Both teams have impressed early on, with the women's team currently ranked No. 1 in the country. Both teams look to keep flying high against Amherst and Williams at Ringe courts on Saturday.
Just like last year, the No. 4 men's team (4-0, 3-0 Ivy) is squaring off in a double-header against the two Massachusetts colleges. They'll play Amherst at 11 a.m. and then Williams at 4 p.m. The No. 11 Jeffs are currently 3-2, with one of those losses coming against Navy, which the Quakers beat 9-0 on Wednesday night.
"I think the result last night makes us the favorite," coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "But Williams is pretty good."
Ranked at No. 8, the Ephs are better than their 2-3 record. Two of those losses were shutouts to perennial No. 1 Trinity and also to No. 3 Harvard. But in their third loss, to No. 2 Princeton, they took a game and played hard throughout.
"I want to make sure that we play our best, that we prepare well," Thorpe-Clark said. "They'll both be tough games, but it's an advantage to us that we're playing at home."
As evidenced by its jump to the top spot in the country, the women's team (3-0, 3-0) has had a very strong season early on. Over the holiday break, freshman Kristin Lange tore through the Under-19 U.S. Junior Open Championship, easily knocking off the top two seeds on her way to capturing one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world.
But the rest of the team also performed well at the William White Invitational last weekend, with four Quakers finishing in the top eight against some of the best players from around the globe.
Despite their strong performances in their last few weeks, the players are not going to let success get to their heads going into their Saturday dual-match versus No. 8 Williams.
"The ranking brings a little pressure to keep it there," senior and team captain Paula Pearson said. "But at the same time, it builds confidence having people know you're there."
Like their male counterparts, the Lady Ephs have also shown some strong performances this year despite currently owning a 3-3 record.
"It's the type of match where if we don't prepare properly we could get surprised and be knocked off," Penn coach Jack Wyant said. The Quakers have "had a good week of practice, and I don't anticipate anything other than them playing their best. If they do that, we should be okay."
The women's match will run alongside the men's at 4 p.m. at Ringe courts. Although the Quakers are expected to win all three meets, a loss would hurt the progress that both teams have made so far.
