W. Tennis wins ninth in a row

One of only two undefeated teams on the Penn campus this spring, the women's tennis team maintained its unblemished record by defeating Maryland Tuesday at Levy Tennis Pavilion. The Quakers had to overcome a loss by first-seeded Barrie Bernstein in order to pull out the 6-3 victory. With the win Penn improved to 9-0. "We had to play well as a team," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "[The Terrapins] are a strong team, regardless of their ACC record." Top seeded Bernstein was in control of the match early and took the first set 6-3. But the groundstrokes that won her the first set eventually began to sail wide, and she lost the next two sets. The Quakers thus had to deal with a loss by their top seed for only the second time this season. Second seed Preety Sorathia played possibly her strongest match of the season and won easily, 6-1, 6-0. The Quakers' third seed, Lara Afanassiev, came back to win 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. Afanassiev was up 5-2 in the first set but faltered and lost five straight games. She regained her composure and took the last two sets through strong serving and consistent shotmaking. Beth Brady, the fourth seed, lost in straight sets. Her Maryland opponent was a junior college all-American transfer this year. Brady, though, did not play her best tennis. With the outcome of the match still undecided, Cori Sibley, the fifth seed, won in three sets. She was followed by sixth-seeded Andrea Grossman, who cruised to a straight-set victory. Up 4-2 after the singles competition, the Quakers only had to win one doubles match to clinch the victory. Doubles play began with Bernstein and Sorathia losing the first set 4-6, but they rebounded to take the next two sets and the match. With the victory in hand, the next match went much like the first, with the team of Afanassiev and Brady losing the first set only to take the next two. The final score of the match was 6-3. The victory gives the Quakers something to build on as they travel to New York for matches against Ivy rival Cornell and Syracuse.