M. Tennis shut out three times in Florida before victory

The Quakers only won one match against four top-ranked teams before defeating Rutgers 6-1 over spring break. The Florida sun didn't shine on the Penn men's tennis team over spring break, as they were handed four losses in five matches. The Quakers (7-4) opened their Florida trip with a 7-0 loss to the No. 10 team in the country, South Alabama. No Penn singles player even won a set, and the doubles teams were equally ineffective. "We went into the heart of these teams' backyards, having to adjust to the weather, and they just won easy sets that we couldn't," Penn coach Gene Miller. The squad then geared up to face three native teams, South Florida, Florida International and Miami. The contest with South Florida provided no better result, as the Quakers lost 6-1. Competition improved with several tight matches, and a victory by freshman Michael Klatsky (6-4, 2-6, 6-4). Strong performances were also turned in by Penn senior co-captain Brad Goldberg at No. 4, and No. 1 doubles team Udi Kish and Marc Fisicaro. Fisicaro and Kish were unable to win their match at No. 1 doubles, but took the opponent to extra points, losing 9-7. "We need to work on getting more determined when things get bad, and we are starting to do it -- they need to believe more that they can beat these teams," Miller said. The trip then took them to face a tough Florida International team, who shut Penn out of the team scoring, 7-0, for the second time during the trip. Miller looked to change things a little, moving senior Joel Silman into the No. 1 singles position. "Any of these three guys -- Marc, Udi and Joel -- can compete at that level, so I rotated the spot to see what it would do," Miller said. Silman was unable to win a tough match (6-4 ,6-4). He was not alone however, as no singles player was able to capture a victory. Sophomores Jordan Szekely and David Schwartzman made good runs, taking their opponents to three sets before losing. "These teams were just better than us on these days -- on a different day, the result might have gone our way," Kish said. The sole victory of the match for the Quakers was that of the No. 3 doubles team of Schwartzman and freshman Dominic Rioux. The duo defeated their FIU opponents, 8-5, but the victory went for naught as the other two doubles combinations lost, giving up the team point for Penn. Miami was the next obstacle standing in Penn's way. For the fourth straight time, the Quakers came away on the short end. Once again, the team was shut out, losing every match. Goldberg was the only player to take his match past the second set, but winning the first was not enough, as he fell, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. "Their breakthrough is going to come when they realize they can win the breaks and not give in at the crucial points of the match," Miller said. Penn looked to give the spring trip some redeeming value when they faced Rutgers in their final match. "The complexion of the match was entirely different. We used the four matches before to our advantage," Kish said. The team went out and destroyed the New Jersey team Miller had been worried about. Miller switched the lineup, this time in the doubles bracket, starting the Schwartzman and Rioux team at No. 1. This move payed dividends as they started off the match with a victory (8-5) that would set the tone for the day. The doubles swept all three matches, giving the Quakers the first doubles point of the week. The team simply "went for Rutgers' throats" according to Miller, as all but one of the singles players won and Penn took the match, 6-1. Silman continued to play well at No. 1, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, and Kish destroyed his opponent in the No. 2 spot (6-0, 6-2). Fisicaro had what Miller called a "coming out" match with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. The Quakers will have to take the momentum from the last match into this weekend's dual with Penn State. With the difficult part of the schedule behind, the Quakers will need to prove they can now play above the heads of the Ivy opponents with the experience of this trip.

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