W. Tennis overwhelms Lehigh, ready for Army

Even without their No. 1 player, the women's tennis team made quick work of Lehigh Wednesday afternoon, winning 9-0 on the road. Preety Sorathia, the Quakers' top player and captain, did not join her team because she was participating in the ITA National Clay Court championships in Baltimore. After placing out of the pre-qualifying round, Sorathia lost in the first round of the qualifying flight to a top player from Southern Mississippi 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. "She returned a lot of balls and made some beautiful shots," Sorathia said. "I wasn't as consistent as I would have liked to have been, but I'm happy with how I played." Due to Sorathia's absence, Lara Afanassiev played in the No. 1 spot against the Engineers. She easily defeated Lehigh's top player, Corinne Casacid, 6-0, 6-3. Freshman Karen Ridley played the first singles match of her collegiate career in the No. 3 spot against Lehigh's Sherie Rosenberg. Ridley dominated the first set 6-0, then had some trouble in the second set, which she won 7-5. "Karen was in total control but I think she lost her concentration a little bit in the second set," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "It was her first collegiate match and she needed to regain her control near the end." The Penn team was not used to playing in the windy conditions caused by the wide open Lehigh courts. "There were tougher conditions than what we are used to but we did fine," Leary said. "It didn't effect us and we dominated the match." Today Penn will take on Army at 2 p.m. on Lott Courts. Sorathia will be back in the No. 1 spot, but co-captain Beth Brady will not be playing due to shin splints. Therefore, Ridley will remain in the line-up, playing in the No. 4 spot. "Army has a nice team, they are very disciplined and work hard," Leary said. "They will be giving 200 percent all the time." Army is an experienced squad consisting of several seniors. However, Penn's young, talented team is ready for the challenge. "It will be a competitive match, but I think that our skill level is better than theirs," Leary said.