PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania men's squash team (4-0) has had a perfect start to their 2017-18 season. After opening the year with two wins at home to take the Pennsylvania State Classic, the Quakers won back to back matches against Virginia and Navy last weekend to improve their record to an unblemished 4-0. On Sunday, new challenges await the Red and Blue as they return home to play their last matches before the new year.
Traveling to The Ringe to take on number five ranked Penn on Sunday will be St. Lawrence and Williams. The Quakers will take on third ranked St. Lawrence at 11 a.m. before they face No. 21 Williams at 3:30 p.m. For the second time in three years, Penn has started their season 4-0. The Red and Blue will look to repeat 2015 in which they defeated St. Lawrence and Williams to improve to 6-0.
About Penn
* For the second time in three years, the Quakers have started the season 4-0.
* The last time the Quakers started 4-0 was 2015. The Red and Blue won their fifth and sixth games against St. Lawrence and Williams, the same two team they will be facing on Sunday, to improve to 6-0.
* Freshman
Andrew Douglas has put up an impressive 4-0 record in his first collegiate matches. Douglas has lost just one game in four matches.
* Along with Douglas, the Quakers have four other players that have gone an undefeated 4-0. They are:
David Yacobucci,
Karim Hussein,
Wil Hagen, and
Max Reed.
* Karim Hussein and
Max Reed are the only Quakers who have yet to lose a game this season.
* Penn has played St. Lawrence twice over the last three seasons. The Quakers are 2-0 in those matches. Meanwhile, the Red and Blue have played Williams twice over the last five years, in 2013 and 2015, earning 8-1 and 9-0 victories.
* This Sunday's double-header marks the last matches the Quakers will play until after the new year when they play Rochester on January 10.
Scouting St. Lawrence
* The Saints come in ranked number three in the nation.
* St. Lawrence will be playing their first matches of the season this weekend. The Saints went 14-4 last year.
* The Saints and Quakers have played twice over the last three years with Penn winning both matches. The Red and Blue won both matches by the dramatic score of 5-4.
* Returning for the Saints from last season's match will be Lockie Munro, Moustafa Bayoumy, and Lenard Puski. Bayoumy defeated Hussein last year in a five-set thriller.
Scouting Williams
* The Ephs have gone 1-3 to start the season and are ranked 21st. After a three match losing streak to start the year which included a 7-2 loss to Cornell, Williams defeated Hamilton 9-0.
* Williams and Penn have played twice over the past five seasons, the last meeting coming in 2015 that ended in a 9-0 Quaker win.
What's Next
* After their matches against St. Lawrence and Williams, the Quakers will not play again until after the new year when they will return home to play Rochester.
