M. Tennis plays for respect

Trying to regroup from last weekend's spring sting, the Penn men's tennis team will attempt to take its frustrations out on the road against Ivy foes Brown and Yale. With the Quakers' hopes to qualify for the NCAAs now highly unlikely, Penn has to guard against losing focus as it finishes up the season. These two matches will give Penn (14-7, 3-3 EITA) a chance to even its Ivy record, now 1-3. But will that be enough incentive to maintain the focus against two tough, but beatable opponents on the road? "We played road matches before and we swept them," junior Marc Schecter said. "I think everyone has to bear down. At this time of the season, it's tough to get on a van for five hours." The first stop for the van will be today in Providence where the Quakers face the Bears at Varsity Courts. Brown (9-4, 3-1) for the past few years has been considered one of the weaker Ivy League teams. But according to senior captain David Nathan, who is unlikely to make the trip due to tendinitis, Brown is becoming more bear-like. "The last couple of years, Brown was one of the weaker teams in the Ivies," Nathan said. "But I think they're playing better than usual." The second stop for the van will be New Haven, as Penn will face the Elis. The match will pit the Quakers against Yale (10-10, 6-3), which was part of a three-way tie for first place in the EITA last year. "Yale's a good team," Nathan said. "They are a very good team, but they are a team we match up very well against. We have a shot at beating them if everyone plays well. A lot of our guys know the players on the Yale team. They aren't intimidated by Yale." The contest will also allow the Quakers to exact some revenge because the Elis nipped them 4-3 in the fall. "We played Yale in the fall and lost to them 4-3, so that should be a very good match," sophomore Jeff Jackson said. "Yale's a match the guys on the team want to win really badly. We think we're better than them. We want to prove it." The Quakers will have to adjust to the fast courts at Yale, and especially Brown, where the courts are over an ice rink. To prepare, coach Gene Miller hits balls to the players' feet during practice. "We tried to get ready for the speed of the courts," Schecter said. "They're pretty much hard and fast. We worked on things we needed to do to break our slump." When the Quaker van makes its final stop at Philadelphia, Penn hopes the sting of last weekend will be replaced with the success of this weekend.