A fresh, new look at Ivy supremacy

Jaded little freshmen. After winning Penn's first-ever women's tennis Ivy League championship in their first season with the Quakers -- leading the team to an undefeated 7-0 Ancient Eight record in the process -- the Penn freshman juggernaut of No. 1 singles Sanela Kunovac, No. 2 Nicole Ptak and No. 6 Rachel Shweky seemingly has captured the gold medal in its first competition, setting the standard even higher for the next go-round. "The Ivy title is huge -- it's Penn history in the making," Shweky said. "We have really done it. We are an unstoppable team." The freshman trio led the redoubtable Quakers to a better-than 6-1 average margin of Ivy victory this season, as Penn outscored its Ancient Eight foes, 43-6. It just wasn't fair. Heading into the Ivy season, it looked as if the Quakers, despite their high level of confidence, were destined to finish in the middle of the league pack. Although the Red and Blue had emerged from their non-conference schedule with a 6-4 record, the won-loss tally was not reflective of the way that the Quakers performed. Whereas Penn was able to handily defeat its lesser regarded opponents, when it came time to square off against a top-ranked foe, the Quakers always fell short. Kunovac attributes Penn's lack of success in the early season to being a young team in the midst of developing chemistry. "When we were playing in the non-conference schedule, we had the chance to experiment with our lineup and to feel each other out on the court," the frosh said. "By the time that the Ivies came, we knew it was for real. "And we were ready to go." Ranked ahead of the Quakers in the Ancient Eight were Harvard, Yale and Princeton -- an imposing set of foes for any Division I tennis team. It was Penn's first match against Princeton, however, that eliminated all doubts about the Quakers' ability to compete at the top of the league. Serving as Penn's turning point, the 6-1 triumph at Lott Courts on March 30 paved the way for a season that would culminate in championship glory. "From the first match, when we defeated Princeton, it seemed as if we were ready to take on the Ivy League," Kunovac said. Princeton found out immediately just how ready the Quakers were. As the defending Ivy League champions, the Tigers appeared poised to challenge for a second title. With the 6-1 thrashing, however, the Quakers dashed the Tigers' hopes early in the season. "We flat-out dominated them," Shweky said. After the Red and Blue's victory over Princeton, Yale came to Lott Courts to pose as Penn's next victim. "Beyond the championship being the ultimate team prize, this match against Yale was definitely the high point of my season," Ptak said. "I played [Margaret Purcell] who had killed me in nationals two years ago and I beat her, 6-4, 6-4." "It was a huge win that boosted my confidence for the remainder of the season." In a season of firsts for the Red and Blue, the Ivy League campaign saw the Quakers defeat Harvard for the first time since April 12, 1980. At the time, the Crimson were the No. 1 ranked team in the Ivy League and a top 50 team in the nation. Once again, the underdog Quakers reigned supreme, defeating the Crimson in a 6-1 drubbing. "We beat Harvard for the first time in ages," Kunovac said. "It was awesome to be able to do it this year -- my first year on the team. Hopefully, we can beat them again and again in the future." After trouncing the remainder of their Ivy League foes in seamless fashion, the Ivy League championship that the Quakers clinched with a 7-0 sweep of Columbia last Sunday certainly ranks No.1 on the list of firsts. "It is the best feeling ever," Shweky said. "For any athlete, it is his or her dream to win the championship. Achieving your goals is awesome."

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