Preety in Red and Blue

After meeting coachAfter meeting coachCissie Leary at a USTAAfter meeting coachCissie Leary at a USTAevent, Preety SorathiaAfter meeting coachCissie Leary at a USTAevent, Preety Sorathiachose to attend Penn When Preety Sorathia and her family moved to Louisiana, their apartment was conveniently located next to a tennis court. Sorathia was a chubby nine-year old and had never played tennis before, but her mother told her to pick up a racquet so she could get some physical activity. So her tennis career began with her father tossing tennis balls to her every day after school. "Tennis just started out as a fun thing to do for exercise," Sorathia said. "I was not really serious about it." But after returning to her home state of New Jersey and playing for a few more years, Sorathia did become serious about tennis and began playing tournaments. Sorathia played No. 1 singles for Eastern High School for two years, but spent most of her time traveling around the country participating in USTA sanctioned tournaments. Because of her relationship with Leary and her desire to go to school in a city, Sorathia decided to become a Quaker. "I wanted to recruit her for a long time," Leary said. "She has the kind of character I was looking for in a player and is a good person to build a team around." By the end of her junior career, Sorathia was burnt out because of all the playing and traveling she had done. But immediately upon joining the Penn team, she regained her love for the game. "Playing in college was a big change from competing at the junior level," Sorathia said. "There is a great emphasis on the team and not the individual, and I really liked that." Another huge adjustment Sorathia had to make was playing doubles in addition to singles. In high school and at tournaments, she only played singles and was purely a baseline player. After a few weeks of practice into her freshman year, Leary told her that she would be playing No. 1 doubles. "I could not believe it," Sorathia said. "I told her that she was crazy. And for the first semester, I did not know where to stand or how to play. But eventually I got better." Indeed she did improve, and by the end of her junior year, Sorathia and her partner Barrie Bernstein were named first-team all-Ivy and were ranked sixth in the region and 39th in the nation. Sorathia has also showed much improvement at the singles position. Starting at No. 4 singles as a freshman, she moved up one spot in each subsequent year until reaching the No. 1 position this season as a senior. "She has matured quite a lot as a player," Leary said. "She is much more consistent and plays the game of tennis instead of just hitting the ball." Sorathia achieved her greatest success last year at the No. 2 singles position. Finishing the Ivy League spring season with a 7-0 record, Sorathia was the only No. 2 singles player in the conference to be awarded first-team all-Ivy honors. In addition, Sorathia won her flight at last year's ECAC Championships, helping the Quakers win the ECAC team championship and achieve a No. 10 ranking in the East Region's final poll. "I played some of the best tennis of my life," Sorathia said. "I worked really hard, and I was very proud of my play." This year, because she is playing stronger competition at the No. 1 singles position, Sorathia has not had the same brilliant record of years past. Against some of the best players in the Eastern Region, she has amassed a record of 9-10, including 1-1 in the Ivy League. This somewhat mediocre record, however, is not indicative of her quality play. "I'm a fighter," Sorathia said. "I may be down, but I never give. And I make my opponent win the match." Sorathia's contributions are not limited to her efforts on the court. On a team with only one other senior -- co-captain Beth Brady -- Sorathia has taken on a leadership role. That role will be especially important for the rest of her senior year, because after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament last weekend against Cornell, her playing career at Penn has most likely come to an end. Even though Sorathia may no longer compete as a Quaker, her tennis playing days are certainly not over. "I love the game," Sorathia said. "And no matter what, I will always play it."

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