Coming off a two-game winning streak, the Penn men’s squash team wanted to keep the ball rolling.
And last night at Ringe Courts, they did just that, sweeping Navy 9-0.
The Red and Blue (3-3, 1-2 Ivy) — ranked No. 10 in the College Squash Association poll — were so dominant that they gave up just one game to the No. 15 Midshipmen (13-3).
Even after Penn’s recent wins over Brown and Bates, coach Jack Wyant seemed especially pleased after Thursday’s play.
“It’s the most consistent match we’ve played all year,” he said.
No. 1 Thomas Mattsson took on Navy’s Allan Lutz, defeating him 11-7, 11-6, 11-4.
Despite the junior’s sweep, the win wasn’t without excitement. Mattsson and Lutz played impressively long points. While Lutz put up quite the fight, he just couldn’t hold on.
The rest of the night followed in similar fashion.
No. 2 Dan Greenberg coolly took out Navy freshman and Philadelphia area native Hunter Beck, 11-7,11-4, 11-2.
The first game stayed relatively close, but Greenberg jumped ahead 4-0 in the final two games and held on for a decisive win.
Greenberg’s match proved to be a physical one when the visibly frustrated Beck was forced to halt play mid-game due to a bloody knee.
To round out Penn’s top three, senior James Clark edged out Navy’s Billy Abrams in three close games, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8.
One of the only missteps in the Quakers’ solid performance was when senior William Browne gave up the lone game loss of the evening in his 3-1 defeat of Navy’s Thomas McNamara.
Now riding an impressive win streak, the Quakers have to keep their focus over break. They don’t resume play until mid-January.
But just because they won’t be playing other teams for a while doesn’t mean they won’t be competing.
In fact, the “challenge matches,” as coach Wyant said, start January 4, when the players will face each other in order to determine the team’s ladder.
“[They have to] stay internally motivated,” Wyant said.
That shouldn’t be much of a problem, given the individual nature of the sport, as each player is constantly working to improve personal weaknesses.
However, Wyant is also looking for his players to make improvements as a team.
They need to play a faster game, and in order to do that they have to “hit the ball harder [and] move quicker,” Wyant said.
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