Though the Penn men’s squash team lost six seniors and much experience to graduation this past May, the team has high hopes as it opens the 2009-10 season Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y., against Western and Cornell.
That’s because of the Quakers’ four-man rookie class.
“The freshman have made a good impact [and] brought a nice breath of fresh air to replace [the] seniors that we lost,” coach Craig Thorpe-Clark said. “They’ve invigorated the other guys a little bit as well.”
This season, collegiate squash rules changed the way points are scored, and Thorpe-Clark has adjusted workouts to prepare. In previous years, players could only score points as the ball server. Now, the point-a-rally, or PAR, system is in effect, so players can score on every rally.
“It puts more emphasis on each point,” junior No. 5 James Clark said.
“I actually like it a little more,” junior No. 6 Porter Drake added.
With the change, Thorpe-Clark has emphasized conditioning and endurance. He implemented specific, formalized fitness tests at the beginning of the year that players were required to pass.
And the players are responding very well. They are in better shape and, according to Drake, “more familiar with the weight room and training staff.” The strength and conditioning program is now tapered for squash players, with more cardio and track work.
Thorpe-Clark has been impressed with his team’s effort, “both on and off the court.”
Sophomore No. 1 Thomas Mattsson (ranked No. 18 nationally, according to the College Squash Association’s preseason rankings), senior captain Mark Froot, and freshman Dan Greenberg are all “working very hard,” Thorpe-Clark said.
“[They are] the top the players on the squad, and set the tone,” he added.
Thorpe-Clark believes practices and games are analogous to homework and tests and that the Quakers can get top grades by continued hard work and improvement. His philosophy is simple: To be at the top of the league, “Win every match.”
The Quakers (8-8, 2-4 Ivy last season) also hope to improve their team ranking from last year.
“[Two years ago] we finished fifth in the college league,” Drake said. “Last year, we were seventh. We’re looking to be top five this year.”
Besides team success, the players also have personal goals such as having “a winning individual record,” according to Clark.
Excluding games against teams like Trinity (undefeated in its last 202 games) and Princeton (Ivy League champions seven out of the past 10 years), Clark believes individual players have a realistic chance to win any given match.
With plenty of preseason conditioning and youthful vigor, the Quakers believe they can prevail throughout this upcoming season.
“The team is working very hard physically,” Thorpe-Clark said. “And we are taking the season one game at a time.”
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