W. Tennis shows off depth at Easterns

Andi Grossman rebounds from a loss to G-Town and advances to the flight C finals While the women's tennis team won none of the divisions in the 19-team Eastern Collegiate tournament this past weekend at Princeton, it clearly showed its overall strength, as every Penn player made it to at least the semifinals. "The tournament shows that we have a lot of strong players," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "It was a good individual tournament, and it helped us get a feel of where we are." Of the four Penn players who participated in singles competition, Andi Grossman advanced the farthest in the tournament, making it to the finals of the "C" flight. Although she normally plays in the No. 4 spot for Penn, several of Grossman's opponents regularly compete in the No. 3 spot. Grossman eventually lost in the finals to Yale's No. 3 player, Summer Khaurarian, who is a nationally-ranked freshman. Grossman was coming off of a shaky showing against Georgetown in which she lost in singles but won her doubles match. "Andi needed to get some wins and she got them in this tournament," Leary said. "For her, this was huge." Lara Afanassieu, who usually plays in the No. 2 spot for Penn, played in the "A" flight because the Quakers' No. 1 player, Preety Sorathia, is competing in the ITA National Clay Court championships in Baltimore. Afanassieu did not disappoint her teammates, as she made it to the semifinals. "I played really well. In fact, it was the best tennis I have ever played," Afanassieu said. Afanassieu's performance in this tournament gives Leary extra confidence regarding the team's future. After Sorathia graduates this year, Afanassieu will be considered for the team's No. 1 spot. Perhaps Afanassieu's strongest match of the tournament was beating Princeton's Bridget Mikysa in the third round 6-4, 6-4. In flight "A" doubles, the Penn team of Beth Brady and Karen Ridley advanced to the finals. The Quakers lost to Princeton 6-4, 6-4. "Brady and Ridley were able to gel as a team and get good experience playing as a team," Leary said. "The Princeton team played solidly and didn't make any mistakes." Today the Quakers will be on the road playing Lehigh at 3 p.m. Leary expects Lehigh to be similar to Georgetown, which Penn beat earlier in the season at home. "Your focus is different and your concentration has to be better when you are on the road," Leary said. "But I think we are more than ready." Afanassieu feels that the team's strong play in the tournament will continue through the rest of the season. "We will all do well based on our performances this weekend," Afanassieu said. "Hopefully the freshmen who have little experience will continue to play fine." If they do, Lehigh and the rest of Penn's foes will be in trouble.