Quakers sweep past Georgetown

Penn freshman Anastasia Pozdniakova doesPenn freshman Anastasia Pozdniakova doesnot lose a game as Penn cruises to 7-0 victory Big wins often provide big egos. Big egos sometimes lead to attitude. Attitude begets a false sense of security and a drop in intensity. Sports pages are riddled with articles about teams coming off resounding victories, only to be put back in their place the following week. In any sport, that is something you try to avoid. In tennis, a sport which is as much mental as it is physical, it can be deadly. Luckily for the Penn women's tennis team, big egos are not part of its repertoire. A week after an easy win over Swarthmore, the humble Quakers (2-0) avoided any potential letdown by dismantling the Georgetown Hoyas, 7-0. The competition was a far cry from the talent that awaits the team in the weeks ahead, but it provided a competent test for a young team still trying to find itself. The team was led by No.1 singles player and junior co-captain Lara Afanassiev, who easily defeated the Hoyas' top player, Laura Schoelkopf, in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Penn freshman Anastasia Pozdniakova, who plays in the No. 2 singles spot, has still yet to lose a single game in the young season as she shut down her opponent, 6-0, 6-0. For the most part, the rest of the team faced a tougher test, but came still through with flying colors. Sophomore Karen Ridley, Penn's No. 3 singles player, was taken to a tie breaker in the second set of her match, but proved up to the challenge, finishing her opponent in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6. The only other test provided by the Hoyas in singles play came in the No. 4 match where sophomore Julia Feldman was pushed, but still managed to retain another straight-set victory, 6-4, 6-4. Penn assistant coach Mike Dowd liked what he saw, noting that for many of the players, this was their first real competition of the fall. "It was a good match," Dowd said. "It's good to get this confidence and some wins for when we face some better opponents." In doubles play the story was pretty much the same, with the notable exception of a loss by the No.1 doubles team, Afanassiev and Feldman, to the Hoyas duo of Schoelkopf and Katrina Mitchell. The Quakers saved the point with the outstanding play of Ridley and sophomore Alison Lacika, who won their match, 8-3. Another easy win by the team of Pozdniakova and sophomore Amy Wax finished the shut out. For a team that has only been practicing together for about a week, the Quakers look good. Penn will see just how good as it moves into a series of tournament play in the weeks to come. Dowd feels that despite the wins, the team has not done anything to get excited about. "We are not ready to compete with the big boys yet," Dowd said. "We're young and we haven't done much doubles yet. We still have a big team and we don't even know what the lineup is going to be. Hopefully in the individual tournaments the players are going to, we'll see who emerges."