As if Penn’s squash teams needed another reason to stay hungry, the lure of a third-straight championship ring for men’s squash and the first women’s team title since 2000 speaks for itself.
Penn men’s and women’s squash are heading into the season with fresh motivation to accomplish something that Penn’s program has never done — having one school’s men’s and women’s teams sweep both national titles in the same season.
In a preseason virtual town hall, women’s squash coach Jack Wyant and men’s squash coach Gilly Lane discussed their outlooks for the season. With the men’s team coming off of two straight national championships and the women’s team is poised to chase its first national championship in 25 years, there is a palpable sense of excitement about what is in store for this season.
“I can’t remember a year where I was more excited than this one,” Wyant said. “Our only complaint is that they aren’t having enough fun.”
“We’re not just saying this. It’s one of our favorite groups of all time … in a lot of different ways,” Lane added.
Not resting on its rings
It is easy for a team coming off back-to-back titles to rest on its laurels — but that’s not so easy for Lane’s squad. Although he understands that his men’s team does not need any extra motivation, he finds inspiration from others that still don’t believe in his program.
“The reason that we’re chasing is because we have a lot of doubters out there, and I love that, and we have a lot to prove,” Lane said. “We still have things to accomplish in [the] history of this program … as it compares to our peers.”
With back-to-back national championship wins under its belt, the men’s players’ goal this season will be to preserve their bodies for when it matters most. It’s easy for a team to think too far ahead, but the Quakers will be taking it one step at a time.
For Lane and Wyant, the key is to balance the workload of training over the entire season in order to prevent the physical and mental toll that often comes with a long championship run.
“When I started at Penn, or if I think back to my squash career in the ’90s, the coach had to push and prod us, [but now] we actually have the opposite kind of role, where we actually have to hold these guys back because they want to overtrain themselves,” Wyant said. “It’s a good problem to have from where we sit … because we want them to be playing their best when the matches matter the most.”
The importance of rest is compounded by the fact that many Penn squash players, including juniors Salman Khalil and Malak Khafagy, compete on the Professional Squash Association Tour. Penn has created a schedule that will allow players to compete in both challengers and the PSA tournament — and although there is not a monetary incentive to compete in these professional tournaments, the opportunity to play against world-class talent offers invaluable experience and exposure.
No NIL, no problem
It’s no secret that every championship team will have roster turnover in the offseason. Key departures from the previous season include 2025 graduates Dana Santry and Nick Spizzirri, who both made significant contributions to the men’s team. With the transfer portal reshaping the landscape of college athletics — particularly in football and basketball — Wyant and Lane acknowledged that its full impact hasn’t yet reached the squash world.
To its knowledge, Penn squash has not lost recruits to other schools due to name, image, and likeness benefits, a healthy sign for an Ivy League program that has been rocked by the transfer portal in other sports. However, the Quakers have brought in transfers from other countries, like sophomore Gregory Malsang of France and junior Anne Leakey of New Zealand. In a relatively small sport like squash, adding even one transfer on both the men’s and women’s sides is considered an aggressive move — a decision for the players that is motivated not by NIL money, but by the appeal of joining a championship-caliber program.
Fresh faces add fuel to the fire
While Penn men’s squash will be receiving last season’s championship rings before the new season begins, Lane noted the importance of remembering those who won’t be getting one — the freshmen, whose hunger and motivation to earn a ring of their own have added a fresh edge to the team’s dynamic.
Freshman twins Alex and Philip Dartnell stand out among them, both literally and figuratively. At 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-3, respectively, the towering pair is expected to play a major role this season.
“Do I like being No. 1? No, not really, but I like [to] think of ourselves trying to prove a point and chase something,” Lane said.
In their quests for a national championship, Penn men’s and women’s squash have the talent, focus, and chemistry to take another shot at making history.
Lane summed it up best: “I like this team,” he said with a smile.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated that Penn is attempting to be the first school to sweep men’s and women’s squash national titles since Harvard achieved that in 2019. Harvard also achieved that in 2020, 2022, and 2023. The DP regrets the error.
