By the time Ludacris takes the Franklin Field stage tonight, the Penn men's tennis team hopes to have taken the
Number One Spot in the Ivy League.
The Quakers can do so today by going into Boston and defeating Harvard, which is perched atop the Ivy League (10-6, 2-0 Ivy). And tomorrow, the Quakers will face Dartmouth (5-8, 0-2) in Hanover, N.H.
With only two weekends of Ivy play remaining, the Quakers (11-8, 2-1) are convinced a win today would be the key to closing out the season strongly.
"It's looking like we can probably run the table if we can win here," senior ace Jason Pinsky said.
But focusing on the match at hand would do the Quakers well, as the No. 45 Crimson have no plans of going quietly.
At No. 1 doubles for Harvard, Ashwin Kumar and Sasha Ermakov will push the Quakers from the start of the day. The best doubles teams from No. 1 Virginia and No. 13 Pepperdine can count themselves among the many victims the lethal duo has claimed.
But Penn junior Justin Fox thinks that the key to the doubles match isn't the rankings numbers game - it's heart.
"We need to make it like our doubles match against Brown," Fox said.
"It was extremely loud, and we were pumping each other up by shouting from court to court. We need to do this against Harvard and let them know that Penn is here."
But even a doubles-point victory guarantees nothing. In singles, Penn faces a tough Harvard six led by ranked ace Chris Clayton.
Any lapse in play, and the Quakers could find themselves with an insurmountable second conference loss.
If the Crimson are the top dogs of the Ancient Eight, then the Big Green are the mutts at the bottom.
In a loss last weekend to Columbia - a team currently tied with Penn in Ivy play - Dartmouth was flabbergasted, failing to win a single match.
Despite the clear disparity in play, the Quakers must bring their top game. Fox emphasized that every team is a threat.
"[Dartmouth being] 0-2 in the league doesn't matter," he said.
"It would be easy for us to have a letdown against Dartmouth, especially if we beat Harvard, or even worse, if we lose to Harvard. We need to stay focused, because that can't happen."
Pinsky believes the Quakers have the edge over both teams.
"We just have to mentally prepare the right way," he said. "We're not changing anything about our game plan. We'll get on that bus, relax, focus, and we'll be ready."
But should the Quakers falter - be it against the cream of the crop or the bottom of the barrel - the road back will be steeper than ever.
