M. Tennis to play with best of the best

Rolex. Princeton. Two words synonymous with the elite. Exclusive. Excellence. The upper crust. So it's only fitting that the final fall event for the Penn men's tennis team, the ITA Rolex Regional Championships, will be held today through Sunday at Princeton. This tournament is only for the best. "All of the top guys are there," Quaker senior captain David Nathan said. The Rolex is an individual event, with both singles and doubles competition, in which only top players from throughout the region play. The results of the event play a major role in determining the fall rankings of players in the region. Players are selected to play in the tournament by a committee of college coaches. The committee evaluates players on the basis of their individual records during the season and then votes to determine which players are entered into the field. Sixty-four singles players are chosen for the main draw, and 32 players are selected as qualifiers. Thirty-two teams are picked for doubles play. Such a rigorous selection process should make one realize that merely being chosen to play in the Rolex is a mark of excellence. And this year, the Quakers are sending more players to the event than ever before, six total. Nathan earned a spot in the main singles draw, while junior Marc Schecter, sophomores Andreas Olofsson and Roy Sehgal, and freshmen J.J. Cramer and Brad Goldberg were all placed in the qualifying draw. (Freshman Ehren Stenzler was also chosen, but will not play due to a back injury.) Also, the teams of Cramer and Goldberg along with Nathan and Schecter were seeded 13th and 14th in the doubles draw. "Seven singles and two doubles is great," Penn coach Gene Miller said. "It's very promising. Anytime you send more than three or four, it's great." According to Miller, the large number of Quakers in the tournament is a direct result of playing better competition in the fall season. "The guys' records weren't great, but when the committee looked at the wins we had, and the good schools we lost to, like Notre Dame, it worked in our favor," Miller said. "Even though we had spotty results, everyone had good wins." Both captain and coach feel good about the Quakers prospects in the event. "I think we'll probably do well," Nathan said. "Everyone's up for this. And we've done well against good competition so far this fall." "We're peaking for the fall right now," Miller said. "A lot of them are starting to really play well. They might be a little mentally fatigued, but they're hitting the ball well. It should be a good way to end the fall season." Miller and the Quakers are hoping that after this weekend, Penn will be synonymous with tennis excellence.