When the Penn women's squash team opens its season at home against Cornell, Middlebury and Stanford this weekend, it'll be without its captain, senior Emily Goodwin.
But she won't be far from the court: Goodwin will be watching her teammates and "cheering her brains out."
"Even though it's an individual sport, we're here every day practicing together, and we share a special bond," she said. "It's going through the pain of working hard together. It's also how we pump each other up. You don't feel alone out there."
The Quakers tested their skills in their first scrimmage two weeks ago but face a more grueling schedule this weekend. The women don't typically play three teams at a time, but they welcome the challenge.
"We're really excited to kick off the season with three good matches," coach Jack Wyant said. "We're trying to focus on executing our game plan. We try to do the little things well and the things we have control of, like high-quality serves and getting off to a fast start."
Last year, Penn defeated Cornell, 8-1, in the regular season, and the Big Red finished last in the league.
On the other hand, Middlebury is a less familiar - but plenty athletic - team.
"I don't know what to expect," Wyant said. "We haven't played them before in my tenure, but we're looking forward to it."
Sunday will bring a greater hurdle - Stanford. The Quakers believe the California squad will be their most difficult opponent of the weekend. Besides featuring Lily Lorentzen and being a top-10 team, the Cardinal have a very strong freshman class.
Lorentzen played her freshman year at Harvard, where she became only the fourth freshman to ever win the women's Intercollegiate Individual championship in 2006. She later transferred to Stanford and will presumably play Penn's No. 1 player, junior Kristen Lange.
But every match will count this weekend. Wyant had each of his players pick a specific goal to work on in preparation. Now, the women finally have the chance to see if the hard work paid off.
In addition to Goodwin and the rest of her teammates' voices, Penn will have additional support on the sidelines this weekend: fans.
"In general, [we are] looking forward to a busy, competitive weekend," Goodwin said. "It's our first home match, and it's always great to have all your friends and family come and get excited about squash. It gets everyone excited to play."
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