M. Tennis res. Penn Conference Classic: M. Tennis has good and bad times

"Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share." Led Zeppelin? Yes, but it could just as well be Penn men's tennis coach Gene Miller describing his season. The Quakers have often shown flashes of excellence on the courts, but have also frequently been average. Penn's inconsistency manifested itself again this past weekend at the Quaker-hosted Penn Conference Classic, an individual event filled with top national teams. "We didn't lose to anybody we should have beaten, but we didn't capitalize across the board in beating some teams I thought we could," Miller said. "There were inconsistent results. Some guys won some matches, some didn't." The big winners for the Quakers were freshmen J.J. Cramer and Brad Goldberg. As a doubles team, the pair reached the semifinals of the main draw before falling to the eventual winners from Clemson, 8-6. The highlight of the duo's run was a 9-8 quarterfinal victory over the tournament's top-seeded team from West Virginia. "It was a great victory," Miller said. "That same West Virginia team won the Notre Dame Invitational, which we went to earlier in the season. They're regarded as one of the best teams in our region, and our freshmen knocked them off." A team of sophomores provided the other doubles highlight for the Quakers. Roy Sehgal and David Marek reached the finals of the consolation doubles draw before falling to a strong Penn State team, 8-4. On the way to the finals, Sehgal and Marek had a good win of their own, beating Navy's No. 1 team 8-5. The rest of the results were not as pleasing to Miller and the Quakers. Only two of Penn's seven singles players won their first round matches. Although senior captain David Nathan and Sehgal each advanced to the second round via straight-set victories, they both fell to eventual finalists and semifinalists in their draw, respectively. And after a first round bye, the Quakers' No. 1 doubles team of Nathan and junior Marc Schecter fell to a team from the Virginia, 8-5. "We felt we should have won," Schecter said of the loss to Virginia. "The momentum was in our favor after coming back from being down 5-2. We were pretty much on par with them talent-wise, but it was just a few mistakes here and there that made the difference. "I think it's time for everybody to sit down and re-evaluate what they're doing so that we can start winning some of these matches," said Schecter. Though the overall results were not excellent, Miller thinks they can be explained partially. "[The tournament was] at a time when we wouldn't normally want to schedule anything because of our situation with midterms," Miller said. "The only thing it does is give us all match experience and exposure to so many teams. But it's at a price – they're not playing their best tennis right now. I can't peak them for every tournament." And Miller thinks that the experience the Quakers gained by playing in the event will translate into victories later in the year. "I was pleased with some individual wins that showed promising signs," Miller said, referring to the doubles win of Cramer and Goldberg. "The best thing is that it wasn't any big deal. That's important. All the guys are realizing that we can play with anybody. "I'm not unhappy. We played a lot of tough schools from outside the region," Miller said. "I did it to get them some real tough competition. The good thing is the exposure and the kids' belief. Those will mean something later on." And the Quakers hope later on they will be able to sing a happier and more consistent tune.