W. Tennis faces Owls

For the first time this season, the women's tennis team will have the home court advantage when it plays Temple today at 2 p.m. at Lott Courts. This may be just what the Quakers need to defeat the Owls, whose starting lineup is composed entirely of upperclassmen. Penn will also play at the Lott Courts tomorrow against Army (4-3-1). Six of the nine returning Temple players are seniors. Since the season started, they have had only tournament experience. At the Mount St. Mary's College Women's Fall Championships, Temple's Carmen Pruessner defeated Clarissa Medeiros, also a Temple player, to win flight 'A' singles. Temple also took the flight 'A' doubles and flight 'B' singles titles. Last year against Penn, Temple (0-0) managed to come out on top 5-4. This year, the Quakers are confident things will be different. "I think we're going to win," senior co-captain Cori Sibley said. "We're going into this year so much more prepared. We've all been working really hard at practice." The one problem the Quakers keep coming up against is the amount of freshmen on the team. With Lara Afanassiev and Andrea Grossman playing third and fifth singles and Kathy Charneco on No. 2 doubles, Penn may run into trouble against teams like Temple and Army. On the college level, the freshmen are still finding their footing, but they do not lack playing experience. "Our freshmen are all good players and experienced players," Sibley said. "They've been playing tournaments and I don't get the feeling that their being new is a problem." Army coach Todd Ryska agreed that Penn is a force. "[Penn coach] Cissie [Leary] has a very good program," Ryska said. "Penn has a very good reputation in the Ivy League and the Eastern Collegiate League. We'll just try to play the game we know best and stay with them." Although this is Ryska's first year as head coach for the Black Knights, all of last year's players have returned. He felt the team's chances for the future are good, but for now Army is just trying to stay consistent. If the Black Knights play as well as they did when they took two doubles titles at the Patriot League level, then tomorrow's match should be tough. When Penn faces Temple today, the Quakers will be searching for an edge and Sibley is sure they will find it. Whether it be in the home-court advantage or in the experience they obtained by defeating Swarthmore and Georgetown, the Quakers are ready to even things up.