Virginia Tech holds off W. Tennis at ITA team finals

Quakers blow by JamesQuakers blow by JamesMadison, squeak byQuakers blow by JamesMadison, squeak bySyracuse en route to finals Nobody likes to lose. However, there are times when the thrill of competition itself becomes bigger and more meaningful than any win could ever be. When two opponents bare down upon each other with such skill and voracity, both are left with a profound sense of satisfaction, whatever the outcome. Such was the case this past weekend, as the Penn women's tennis team placed second in thrilling fashion at the ITA team regionals, where eight of the top 16 teams in the region faced off to decide who would compete for the Eastern Indoor Championship. "It was great tennis -- the best I've seen all year," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. Playing as the No. 2 seed of the tournament, the Quakers reached the finals in convincing fashion by dominating a stunned James Madison team, 5-0, and outdueling Syracuse, 5-3. There they fell in a tightly contested match to Virginia Tech, 5-2. In the James Madison match, the Quakers made it very clear that they had come to play. Any hopes that the Dukes held for an upset were quickly dashed as one by one their single players fell in straight sets. The Quakers were so dominant, they clinched victory without having to play a single doubles match, something unheard of considering the level of talent at the tournament. Playing with their usual wrecking crew, a lineup consisting of freshman Anastasia Pozdniakova, sophomore Brooke Herman, junior Lara Afanassiev, sophomore Karen Ridley, sophomore Julia Feldman and junior Andi Grossman, the Quakers never gave James Madison a chance. The Syracuse match was a different story. Penn was given an early wake-up call, as the Orangemen took the first two matches in convincing fashion. In the No. 1 spot, Syracuse's Nicole Strnadova defeated Pozdniakova, 6-4, 6-0, and, in the No. 2 match, Penn's Herman fell to Elizabeth Cascarilla, 6-3, 6-3. But coming through for the Quakers was Afanassiev. As she's done time and time again, the Penn co-captain turned the momentum in the Quakers' favor by winning a tough duel with Syracuse's Miki Kanemitsu, 6-3, 7-5. Playing in the No. 4 spot, Ridley followed Afanassiev's example by winning her match easily in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Feldman put the Quakers in the lead with their third consecutive win, a 6-0, 6-3 victory. The Orangemen tied the match up again in the No. 6 match, however, as Syracuse's Anna Khavalina defeated Penn sophomore Yukie Tokuda, playing in her first match this season, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. With singles even, the match had to be decided in doubles play, and the Quakers came through with a vengeance. After Ridley and freshman Allison Lacika dominated the first match, 8-2, the opportunity was given to the duo of Afanassiev and Feldman to clinch the victory. They did not disappoint, coming through in the clutch, 8-4. The only challenge left for the Quakers was Virginia Tech, one of the top 40 teams in the nation and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The winner of the match would not only win the tournament, but would go on to face Harvard to play for the Eastern Indoors Championship in Princeton, N.J. The Quakers yet again fell quickly in the hole, 2-0. Pozdniakova lost to the Hokies' Vanessa Pardo, 6-4, 6-1, and Herman was defeated by the Orangemen's Serafini, 6-2, 6-3. A glimmer of hope was sustained for Penn, as Afanassiev tried to stage yet another comeback by annihilating her opponent, 6-1, 6-1. They came close. In the No. 4 match, Ridley lost an intense duel with Tech's Katherine Chen, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4. Feldman lost the marathon of the day, as her match was taken to two tiebreakers before she was eventually worn down by her opponent, 6-7 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-1. That broke the Quakers backs. Penn was left with the unenviable task of needing to sweep all three doubles matches to take the victory and the tournament. It proved not to be, as the Hokies finished Penn quickly, winning the first doubles match over the pair of Ridley and Lacika, 8-5.