Philadelphia, PA — The University of Pennsylvania Quakers have two main goals this season: to get better and to be competitive with every team in the country. If they can do that, they might bring the Howe Cup back to Philadelphia.
Last season, Penn controlled most of its matches. The Quakers only lost to three schools — Princeton, Harvard, and Trinity — the only schools that finished ahead of them in the national rankings.
Penn will be led on and off the court by senior co-captains Kristen Lange and Syndey Scott, who were both All-Ivy and All-American last season. Lange, the three-time national individual runner-up, went undefeated in Ivy League play and was named the 2009 Ivy League Player of the Year. Scott and fellow senior Christina Matthias were 2009 CSA Scholar Athletes and received Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area honors. They will be joined by returning players Britt Hebden, Annie Madeira, and Taylor Booth.
The team has lost to graduation second-team All-American Alisha Turner, who played number 3, as well as Tara Chawla, Anita Sellers, and Allie Friedman, who was a 2009 CSA Scholar Athlete. Five first-year players will step into the line-up. Nabilla Ariffin, Rachael Goh, and Yarden Odinak should compete for upper-middle ladder positions, and Pia Trikha and Stephanie Vogel will likely play in the lower middle or bottom of the ladder.
Ariffin, of Hong Kong, was an individual quarterfinalist with her team finishing second at the Asian Junior Championships in 2007 and a semifinalist in 2006. Trikha reached the quarterfinals of the consolation division at the 2009 US U19 Nationals, and Vogel, who played at Kingswood-Oxford, won the number 1 flight of the B New England Championships in 2006 and 2009.
Odinak and Goh joined Penn head coach Jack Wyant at the World Junior Squash Championships in Chennai, India, this summer. Wyant, the coach of the U.S. Junior Women’s team since 2006, guided the American women to a fourth-place finish. Odinak, representing the U.S., reached the semifinals of the Girls Plate division, and Goh competed as one of the top players for Malaysia.
“The class of 2013 is one of the deepest classes and most talented in the history of Penn women’s squash,” Wyant was quoted on PennAthletics.com. “This class is geographically diverse, representing the East Coast, West Coast, Midwest and Southeast Asia. I expect this young group will live up to the hype by dedicating themselves to constant improvement and putting the teams’ interests above their own.”
Penn recently honored former coach Ann Wetzel, a pioneer in women’s college squash for whom the Wetzel Award is named. The team joined the luncheon celebration.
2008-2009 Season Recap
SEASON RECORD: 10-4
FINAL RANKING: 4th
NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: 4th; 4th in Howe Cup (A Division)
2009-2010 Season Preview
Returning Players from Team Championships: Kristen Lange ’10 (1; All-American, All-Ivy, Ivy League Player of the Year); Sydney Scott ’10 (2; All-American, All-Ivy); Britt Hebden ’10 (4); Christina Matthias ’10 (5); Annie Madeira ’11 (6); Taylor Booth ’12 (8)
Graduating Players from Team Championships: Alisha Turner (3; 2nd-Team All-American); Tara Chawla (7); Anita Sellers (9); Allie Friedman (10)
Additions for the 2009-2010 Roster:
- Expected to play in mid/upper ladder: Nabilla Ariffin ’13, Rachael Goh ’13, and Yarden Odinak ’13
- Expected to play in mid/lower ladder: Pia Trikha ’13 and Stephanie Vogel ’13
Captains: Kristen Lange and Sydney Scott
Team Goals: To improve and be competitive with every team in the country
Key Matches: Cornell, Stanford, Yale, Trinity, Princeton and Harvard
To read other team previews, please visit the 2009 – 2010 College Squash Preview Page.
