Finding themselves in a four-game skid, the Penn women’s tennis team needed a win against Bucknell to turn things around.
And thought it was a close match, the Quakers put up a strong fight yesterday at Levy Pavilion and snatched a 4-3 win, keeping Bucknell winless on the season.
From the beginning, the Bisons and the Quakers (3-5) seemed evenly matched, with the doubles point going to Bucknell (0-4).
Penn senior Jacqueline Wong and junior Alexa Ely had the perfect opportunity to secure the doubles point for their team after overcoming Bucknell’s Tania Varela and Lauren Lucido to tie the match.After briefly pulling ahead, Ely and Wong lost in the tiebreaker, handing the doubles point to the Bisons.
The close doubles match was disappointing for the Quakers, but the team prevailed in four of the singles matches, giving it just the momentum it needed to win.
Penn sophomore Daniela DePaoli swept opponent Dumitrita Iepuras in both sets, 6-2, 6-1. Freshman Jules Rodin also bested Bucknell junior Dara Dwojewski in the three spot, taking two of the three sets: 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1.
Ely, however didn’t seem to be able to shake her doubles loss and allowed Lucido to take both sets, 6-1, 6-4.
Sophomore Emily Wolf also had trouble overcoming Varela, falling 6-4 in both of her sets.
The match not only ended the women’s tennis team’s losing streak, but showed that the team has real talent in each class.
Penn will have to use this talent next week when it travels to San Diego during spring break for the University of San Diego Invitational.
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