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(01/20/03 10:00am)
Out of chaos, there came order Saturday for the Penn men's squash team.
With no fewer than six collegiate squash teams and numerous parents filling the Ringe Squash Courts to the brim, the No. 8 Quakers (4-2, 0-2 Ivy) swept No. 17 Amherst, 9-0, in the morning and then sent No. 10 Bowdoin packing by the same score in the afternoon.
"Bowdoin and Amherst did not expect to get their asses kicked like that," senior co-captain Sam Miller said.
Miller's coach was slightly more tempered in his enthusiasm.
"We exceeded expectations," Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clarke said. "We dominated. I thought that we were capable [of winning] but to do it so emphatically was really a credit to the team," he added.
Penn's dominance started at the top. Richard Repetto, No. 1 on Penn's ladder, outscored his opponents by a combined total of 54-23.
"We did feel that we're better than those teams, and we really showed it today," Repetto said.
But he added that "we didn't expect to beat them that decisively."
For the second straight match, freshman Colby Emerson was No. 2 on the Penn ladder. This time around, Emerson rewarded his coach's faith in him, winning both of his matches without conceding a game.
"I've elevated my game a little bit and I feel like I'm playing the best I've played here at Penn so far," Emerson said.
Emerson's matches were not without tension, however. He defeated Amherst's Michael Strong, 9-7, 9-7, 10-8, and dispatched Bowdoin's Lawrence Delasotta, 10-8, 9-5, 9-2.
Emerson remained calm throughout the day
"You can't think like that," he said of those in the bleachers at Molloy Court who wondered if Emerson would be stretched the full five games by his opponents.
"You've always got to be thinking, 'I've got to finish this guy off as fast as I can.'"
The Red and Blue had to deal with as much commotion off the court as on it, as the Amherst men, Bowdoin men and women, and George Washington women all were present at Ringe on Saturday for matches against Penn's two teams.
"I guess I have some practice with that in my fourth year here," Miller said. "But it can get a little distracting."
"When I talk to the guys," Thorpe-Clarke said, "I try to instill some confidence in their game plans, in themselves and for them to keep positive when they're out there."
Penn's opponents were gracious in defeat despite being shut out by the Red and Blue.
"Penn's definitely a top program in the country," Bowdoin No. 7 D.J. MacLeod said. "[They] just came up with the goods today."
The Quakers also enjoyed the benefits of home-court advantage once again.
"My parents came down this weekend, so they were watching," Miller said. "It's good to win. It's even nicer to win at home when people you know are there to watch."
"It's nice to not have to travel and do that whole thing," Emerson said.
Up next for Penn is Williams, ranked No. 11 in the latest SquashTalk.com poll.
"For [us to go to] the nationals at the end of the year, we have to beat Williams," Miller said.
The Ephs will visit Ringe Squash Courts Thursday night.
(01/16/03 10:00am)
If the members of the Penn men's squash team were jet-lagged after returning from London Sunday during last night's match against Navy, they certainly didn't show it.
Instead, the No. 7 Quakers (2-2, 1-2 Ivy) put together their most dominating victory of the season, thrashing the Midshipmen, 8-1, at the Ringe Squash Courts.
"Everything went pretty well," senior co-captain Sam Miller said, who won his match in the No. 3 slot, 9-3, 9-5, 9-1.
"It's nice to win emphatically," Penn coach Craig Thorpe-Clarke said, praising his players for "dominating their opponents at home."
Thorpe-Clarke cited the team's depth as the "key to our success."
"The last couple years, we've had some tough matches with Navy," he added.
Penn was also buoyed by a strong performance from its No. 1 player in the ladder, sophomore Richard Repetto.
Repetto took the first two games from Navy No. 1 Edson Greenwood, 9-3 and 9-2. That set the stage for Greewood and Repetto -- a high school teammate of Repetto's at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia -- provided a thrilling finish to the evening with Repetto winning the third game, 10-8.
"Richard's good at doing that stuff," Thorpe-Clarke said of the final game. "[He] had his hands full."
"You can't underestimate his opponent," Thorpe Clark added. "He doesn't necessarily have the firepower, but he's a very committed athlete, a good squash player with good skills."
Repetto was somewhat disappointed with his inability to put the match away.
"I let up a little bit, let him get back into it," Repetto said. "I took a lot of the pressure off him, started going after shots that I shouldn't have. That's what I can't do."
Miller praised his team for sticking to its game plan of winning with tactics instead of strength.
"Being more tactical wears down the opponent faster so after the first game, their fitness wears down," he said, adding that his opponent Scott Hackman "was certainly frustrated at the end."
"We played better in every department," Thorpe-Clarke said. "The strength didn't become a factor because we had better control and were able to keep them on their heels."
Repetto enjoyed the home-court advantage for the team's first match of 2003.
"It's a lot warmer on these courts," Repetto said of the difference between Ringe and the English courts. On "the English courts, the ball goes dead, literally." Repetto compared the speed differential to "going from clay to hard courts" in tennis.
However, the home-court advantage was diluted somewhat by a considerable number of vocal Navy fans at the match.
"Last year when we went there, it was packed with those kinds of people," Repetto said. "You really just have to tune that stuff out."
"They get pretty excited about going out and supporting one another," Thorpe-Clarke said of the Midshipmen faithful.
"We're getting a more knowledgeable fan to the games, rather than a loud one," he added.
Penn's only loss on the night came from freshman Colby Emerson. The Seattle native was playing in the No. 2 slot, the highest position he has played in his career at Penn.
"He's done well in challenge matches, and he's earned that right," said Thorpe-Clarke of his promising young player. "He's talented, he's worked hard."
"It's a good experience," Emerson said, who played one of the evening's two matches on the main court.
"It wasn't that intimidating, but I've never been in that position before," he added.
Tomorrow, the team will prepare for Saturday's matches at the Ringe Squash Courts against No. 16 Amherst and No. 11 Bowdoin.
"This is the start of an important phase for us," Thorpe Clarke said. Amherst and Bowdoin "are both pretty tough. We should be stronger."
(01/15/03 10:00am)
For the Penn men's squash team (1-2, 1-2 Ivy) it was not a typical winter break.
Instead of vacationing in warmer climates or spending lots of time with family and friends, coach Craig Thorpe-Clarke took his team to chilly London for a week of sightseeing and competition against some of England's top clubs.
"The weather was freezing," senior co-captain Sam Miller said, noting that London saw its first snowfall in nearly a decade last month.
"But good squash is where it's cold," he quickly added.
"England was a great experience," freshman Colby Emerson said. It is "one of the leading countries in terms of good squash playing."
Penn played against three clubs -- Surrey University, Eton College and the Roehampton Club, a London-based club where Thorpe-Clarke used to be the resident pro. For 11 years, Thorpe-Clarke also lived in Guildford, where Surrey University is located.
All three matches were only a short train ride away from the team's hotel.
Thorpe-Clarke described the match against Surrey as the most challenging "because they only had two undergraduates on the team."
Miller called Surrey's coach Ian Robinson, "one of the best in the world."
Emerson praised the team's hosts at the three matches, citing in particular "how receptive the people were to having us play in their clubs."
In return for the hospitality, the team played some very good squash, gaining a respect from its British counterparts which may not have been there before the tour.
"We had a lot of good wins against some tough players," Emerson said. "I don't think they could do anything but respect us."
"They certainly did [respect the team] by the end of the match," Thorpe-Clarke added.
The players also had plenty of time for sightseeing in London, taking in such sights as the Tower of London, the Imperial War Museum and Windsor Castle.
The Penn players also got to tour Surrey University and met the Lord Mayor of Guildford.
Tonight, the Quakers return to the Ringe Squash Courts to face Navy at 6 p.m. Thorpe-Clarke expects a tight match from the evenly matched squads.
"We've always had very competitive matches with Navy," he said. "They've been consistently one of the higher-ranked teams around."
Emerson singled out the physical strength of the Navy players.
"We know that Navy always comes fit and in shape," Emerson said. "If we don't go out hard and if we're not on top of our game, they'll be there to capitalize on that."
"Typically, Navy is a little less adept as far as skill goes," Miller said. "But as far as training and endurance... they are very good."
Thorpe-Clarke cautioned that his players "need to play smarter and not get into a drawn-out battle."
But despite their endurance, he is optimistic about his team's chances tonight against the Midshipmen.
"I'm looking forward to a good result," said Thorpe-Clarke, who hopes to "send the Midshipmen on a long voyage home" to Annapolis.
(12/12/02 10:00am)
The Penn men's squash team took the good with the bad in its weekend trip to New England.
(11/27/02 10:00am)
The Penn women's basketball team gave a free-throw shooting clinic last night at the Palestra.
(11/26/02 10:00am)
In squash sometimes, appearances can be deceiving.
(11/21/02 10:00am)
After last weekend's success in the Ivy League Scrimmage at Yale, the Penn men's squash team opens the regular season Saturday against Cornell at the Ringe Squash Courts.
(11/14/02 10:00am)
In the heart of a city known nationally for its squash history, the Penn men's squash team headed to Yale last weekend looking to make a name for itself among its more well-known Ivy brethren.
(10/22/02 9:00am)
It felt like a microcosm of the fall season for the Penn men's golf team this past weekend at the Big 5 Championships.
(10/17/02 9:00am)
After a month of traveling up and down the east coast for tournaments, the Penn men's golf team gets to stay home this weekend for the Big 5 Championships at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
(10/08/02 9:00am)
After finishing its previous two tournaments in 12th and 11th place respectively, one would expect the Penn men's golf team to be thrilled with its sixth-place finish at the ECAC Championships over the weekend in Binghamton, N.Y.
(10/03/02 9:00am)
After finishing 12th and 11th at the James Madison and St. John's Invitational tournaments the last two weekends, the Penn men's golf team intends to continue climbing the leaderboard on Saturday at the ECAC Championships in Binghamton, N.Y.
(09/24/02 9:00am)
Before heading to Ithaca, N.Y., to face Cornell on Saturday, Penn women's soccer coach Darren Ambrose was a bit worried about playing on the road.
