W. Tennis is ready to repeat success

Senior co-captain Barrie Bernstein and junior Preety Sorathia have been down this road before. In last year's Eastern Collegiate tournament, the pair defeated Princeton in three sets to win the flight 'A' doubles championship. Tomorrow they will travel to Princeton's Lenz Tennis Center to defend their title, and contend in singles competition. "I have a strong feeling that we'll do very well this year," Sorathia said. "We should be seeded pretty high and have a very good draw because we won last year." The Quakers will compete through Sunday in a three-tiered flight system against 16 other teams. All wins go toward individual rankings and do not count for a team total. "It's early in the season and there will be a lot of talented teams there," coach Cissie Leary said. "It will be really good for us to be able to see where we fit in the East. Individually, I think it's a good indicator of where people stand because they play positions of their own ability. That's what's unique about the tournament." The other Ivy League schools competing are Princeton, Yale and Brown. Penn will also get to face Georgetown again after easily defeating the Hoyas 8-1 last Saturday. This victory helped settle the Quakers' nerves. "When I go into a tournament, I don't think about the draw or worry about who's playing," Sorathia said. "I like to be blind when I go in because it's less pressure. In the end, they will all be at the same level as I am. They'll all be tough opponents." Sorathia speaks from experience -- but that is exactly what the majority of this year's team is lacking. Senior co-captain Cori Sibley is one of only three team members who placed in last year's tournament. She took second place in flight 'C' singles competition, but will move up to compete in flight 'B.' Sophomore Adrienne Supino, who attended the tournament as an alternate last year, will play in flight 'C' singles this year. The rest of the starting lineup consists of a strong freshmen force. Lara Afanassiev will join Sibley in flight 'B' singles and Andrea Grossman will play in flight 'C.' When Bernstein, Sorathia and Sibley take the court tomorrow, their freshmen teammates will be watching. It will be up to these three to show the rest of their team and the competition how to get the job done, because they have done it before.