No one argues that undefeated Trinity isn't the best squash team in the nation.
The question is what to take away from a loss on the inevitable long ride home.
The No. 7 Quakers became the No. 1 Bantams' 191st consecutive victim Saturday afternoon in a 9-0 loss in Hartford, Conn.
"You learn when you play the best," coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "We got a good lesson today."
What the Red and Blue (6-3, 1-2 Ivy) did pick up was a day of experience playing a superior team away from home.
With remaining road trips to No. 2 Princeton and No. 6 Rochester, learning how to compete in a hostile environment should pay dividends.
Penn lost all nine of its matches, but managed to win games in the No. 6 and No. 9 spots, an improvement over last season's sweep at Ringe Courts.
The Quakers threw two freshmen and a sophomore into the top three spots to face two seniors and a junior - all while adjusting to unfamiliar white balls and a court with blue and green walls, something unique to the Trinity squash complex.
"It was a daunting task," co-captain Parker Justi said. "We really got to see people under pressure performing at their best."
Moral victories are not ignored when facing a program that hasn't lost since the Clinton administration, and in a lineup with five underclassmen, experience cannot be overlooked.
Along with a raucous Trinity crowd, the Penn youngsters got to see some of the best squash players in the world.
Of the nine Red and Blue players that competed, only sophomore Porter Drake hails from outside the Northeast corridor.
On the other hand, Trinity (8-0) had starters from Sweden, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Colombia.
Justi noted the difference in competition when facing an international opponent.
"That's what sort of puts you on edge," he said. "You're going to be playing someone you've never heard of, but they're going to be better than you."
The Quakers have a tough path ahead, with all four remaining opponents ranked in the top 10.
As for now, Penn is just another 'W' in the record books for one of the greatest college sports programs ever.
"They're very dominant in every position, they're eager, they're hungry to win. And no one wants to be the first Trinity team to lose," Thorpe-Clark said. "They're closing in on 200 consecutive wins, and I think that's something they're eager to achieve."
