W. Tennis heads to Tourney

After suffering the "agony of defeat" in four of its last five matches, a revitalized Penn women's tennis team is primed and ready to capture its share of the "thrill of victory" this weekend in one of the fall season's most demanding tournaments – the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference invitational tournament. The Quakers (3-4) are scheduled to begin play as early as 9 a.m. this morning at the University of West Virginia's Coliseum Courts. An opponent's draw has yet to be announced. The eight-team invitational tournament will continue in a round-robin format through Sunday afternoon. "This is always a tough tournament," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "But we've played well lately and the girls should be well-rested coming off the Fall Break." Fall Break provided the Penn women with a chance to recover from the physical and mental fatigue brought on by the pressure of midterms and the effect of a series of long road matches. In recent losses to Penn State and Temple, stamina may have been the determining factor as the Quakers matched their opponents nearly point-for-point throughout both contests before losing in the final moments. Even with the boost of a weekend's rest, the Penn squad will have to be at its peak as the ECACs feature some of the top tennis talent in the East in such perennial powerhouses as Seton Hall, James Madison, Rutgers, George Washington, and the host Mountaineers, as well as two old Ivy rivals in Cornell and Yale. In addition, the Quakers have a history of difficulty at the ECACs. Last year's team marched undefeated into Rutgers before being humbled with its first loss of the year and a sixth-place finish. "We didn't play very well at the ECACs last year," senior co-captain Suejin Kim said. "But that's something we definitely think we can improve on this year." To achieve that end, Penn will need a solid overall performance, especially on the singles side where the Quakers have been unable to gain the upper hand over their last five matches. Penn will particularly look for big weekends from juniors Barrie Bernstein (No. 1) and Cori Sibley (No. 5), who have been Penn's most successful singles players to date with seven victories a piece. Sophomore Preety Sorathia has earned six victories at No. 3 singles, in spite of a personal slump over her last two matches. In doubles, the Quakers expect to continue their season-long success throughout the lineup, especially from the No. 1 tandem of Bernstein and Sorathia who are 10-1 for the fall season. "We're looking for an all-around team effort this weekend," Kim said. "It's time to get back on the winning track."