It's already been a milestone season for the women's squash team.
The Quakers were the first Penn squad ever to visit South Africa, where they experienced 10 days full of cultural experiences and excellent squash. They followed that up with an undefeated regular season and their second Ivy League title in program history, en route to a No. 1 national ranking.
But there is still one more thing left to define the team's historic season: Win the Howe Cup. The national collegiate women's squash team tournament is being held at Princeton this weekend.
The Quakers will first compete against No. 8 Stanford, which they beat 9-0 earlier this season. If they repeat that result, they will take on the winner of the No. 5 Harvard vs. No. 4 Trinity matchup.
The Red and Blue beat Harvard 5-4 in the final week of the season to keep their undefeated streak alive. They beat Trinity 7-2 in late January.
But looming large over the entire tournament is a possible finals matchup with No. 2 Princeton.
The Tigers will likely be looking for revenge. On Jan. 30, then-No. 2 Penn won five straight matches to upset then-No. 1 Princeton in a thriller at Ringe Courts.
The win earned the Quakers their top ranking, which they have not relinquished since.
Coach Jack Wyant has tried to make this week seem as normal as possible for his players, hoping that they will pick up right where they left off two weeks ago.
"We are going to concentrate on the things we always do, which is play our best and execute our game plan," Wyant said. "Nothing has been different."
Wyant and the rest of the team are a confident, yet unsatisfied bunch.
"We are going into this weekend looking forward to great squash, and I think that's the bottom line," senior co-captain Elizabeth Kern said.
"We have put in all the work up to this point, so now is the opportunity to let that shine."
The Quakers will go into this weekend with fresh legs, after what Wyant called a "tapered" week of practice. Sydney Scott, the team's No. 3 player, will be back in the lineup after missing the final weekend of the season.
Despite their accomplishments, the Red and Blue are still coming into this weekend feeling like the underdogs, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
"Maybe it's due to the fact that we are still relatively young, but I like that," Wyant said. "I like when we go in feeling loose, and it has obviously worked for us so far this year."
Underdog or not, the time has come for the team to prove they are truly the best in the country this year.
"I think we deserve to win because we have worked the hardest and we want it the most," senior co-captain Lauralynn Drury said.
