Sometimes you just need a wake-up call.
And that's exactly what the men's squash team got last week against No. 3 Princeton.
Penn dropped all nine matches, but maybe that's just the motivation it needs to ensure success in this weekend's home matches against No. 2 Harvard and No. 7 Dartmouth.
"The team was disappointed with our performance last week," coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "We have a much better chance to compete well this weekend and we are looking forward to winning some matches."
The strong start that the Quakers had this season may also give momentum to bring them another win and move up in the national rankings, senior co-captain Ben Ende said.
"We have been talking about the Harvard match for a while, so as a captain I am just trying to keep everyone focused," Ende said. "Big matches like this only come across a few times a year."
But although this is a big match for Penn, it has nothing on what Harvard saw on Wednesday night.
The Crimson took No. 1 Trinity - of 161-game win-streak fame - down to the wire, and lost 5-4 in Cambridge.
Harvard's No. 1, Siddharth Suchde, and No. 2, Ilan Oren, both swept their Bantam counterparts.
That top-heavy lineup, which also features a strong No. 4 in Colin West, seems destined to cause Penn problems.
The Quakers' primary resistance will come from Ende and his co-captain Gilly Lane. The two seniors will have to set the standard for their team to lead the Red and Blue to victory.
"This is the last home weekend for this class of seniors," Thorpe-Clark said. "This is the last weekend to represent the University and play with the team."
Junior Lee Rosen, the No. 2 seed for the Quakers, will also have to play at his top level as Penn has seen many strong competitors from Harvard in the previous years.
"Lee has had a successful season and will have to work hard just as the rest of the team," Thorpe-Clark said.
During the match against Princeton, two key players were senior Graham Bassett and No. 9 seed, freshman Christopher Thompson. These Quakers were the only two to grab a single-game win over the Tigers.
Many of the team's goals have already been accomplished, including beating out preseason No. 4 seed Yale. The Quakers have moved up from their preseason No. 6 mark, a clear mark of their improvement.
"These are big matches and we have been thinking about Harvard for awhile," Thorpe-Clark said. "It may be hard to bounce back after the first match because we won't be fresh, but we will refocus and get ready for the match."
