The men's squash team is looking for some love this Valentine's Day - nothing tawdry, just a win to close out the regular season.
No. 7 Penn (7-5, 2-4 Ivy) heads to Rochester tomorrow for a midday match with the up-and-coming No. 6 Yellowjackets (9-5).
With several high-profile international recruits, Rochester has become a legitimate power in the last two years, leapfrogging Penn in the rankings to start the 2008-09 season.
"We know they're good, but we haven't seen them in action," Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. "I just thought early on, 'There's someone we need to get on the schedule and play.'"
Thorpe-Clark and his Quakers opted to compete this weekend instead of resting for the upcoming Team Championships at Princeton.
He noted that another match against a top-flight opponent is a way to stay sharp and learn a bit about a relatively unknown opponent. The Red and Blue haven't faced Rochester since 2004, when they won, 8-1.
"Typically we have a weekend off right before Team Championships," co-captain Parker Justi said. "I think [playing] is a good thing. . It will only strengthen us for the ultimate culmination at Teams."
The Quakers are coming off a strong showing last weekend against two conference foes.
They dropped a hard-fought match to No. 5 Harvard, then turned around the next day to down No. 8 Dartmouth in a thrilling senior day comeback.
Thorpe-Clark called it the best match he's seen in his 10 years at Penn.
"We had an incredible weekend," Justi said. "The lineup that we're going to put out there couldn't be more fired up."
But Penn will have to get through No. 6 Jim Bristow, a junior from England who generally plays at the No. 1 spot for the Yellowjackets.
The Rochester ladder also features No. 12 Hameed Ahmed and No. 17 Will Newnham.
A little more experience never hurts, and before the Red and Blue head to Princeton, N.J., for the final tournament of the year, they have the opportunity to close out the regular season on an even higher note.
EAt the same time, "[Saturday's match] is going to keep us away from festivities around home for the weekend," Justi said.
While the Quakers may not be stung by broken hearts, there's no guarantee when it comes to Yellowjackets.
