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M. Squash dismisses Middies

(01/16/08 10:00am)

The biggest concern was rust. Heading into their match on Saturday, the No. 9 Quakers had not played a match in over five weeks, thanks to inclement weather and a long winter break. Yet No. 10 Navy had not competed in even longer - dating back to November - and it was unable to right the ship against Penn. For the sixth straight time, the Penn men's squash team prevailed over Navy, 7-2 in Annapolis, Md.. The Midshipmen have lost only three matches all season, and two were against Ivy opponents To stay sharp, the Quakers had been running two-a-days since returning to campus last week. Coach Craig Thorpe-Clark also said most players were "good about hitting during exams and over vacation." And on Saturday, Thorpe-Clark, whose team started the season 0-3 before this current two-match winning streak, liked what he saw. "It was a good victory - a great start for the new year," he said. "I believe that our best squash is ahead of us." The Red and Blue breezed past the Midshipmen despite struggles at the top of their lineup. No. 1 Lee Rosen, who was 3-1 on the year coming in, won his first game against undefeated Tucker George before dropping the next three to lose the match. No. 3 Spencer Kurn also fell, in straight games, to Navy senior captain Jeff Sawin. "The matches that we lost were surprising," Thorpe-Clark said. "Lee's had a good run against Tucker in the past. They were playing at home; they came to play and they came to win. There were a lot of tough matches." With two of their top three falling, the rest of the team was forced to step up. And they did, winning every other match. "One of our strengths is our depth," Thorpe-Clark said. "We tend to be pretty even all the way through the lineup." The Red and Blue got two gritty performances from No. 2 Mark Froot and No. 5 Porter Drake. Both were up 2-1 before dropping the fourth to force the rubber game. But both ultimately prevailed in five, in matches that Navy coach Craig Dawson called "heartbreakers." Parker Justi, in the eight position, set the tone early with his 3-0 victory. "Parker just got us off to a good start," Thorpe-Clark said. "We had the momentum on our side and started to steam-roll from that point." The Quakers face two of the Little Three on their Massachusetts road trip next Saturday, stopping at Williams before heading east to face Amherst. "We'll fine-tune some things, Thorpe-Clark said. "Everyone's fit and healthy. With some good weeks of practice, we'll be playing our better squash in the second half of the season." -Staff writer Mike Kaiser contributed to this report