W. Tennis can only eke out two wins

The Quakers fell to Richmond in a tight contest. Five of six singles matches went to a third set. In its first home match of the spring season, the Penn women's tennis team lost to the Richmond by a final score of 7-2. Despite solid efforts put forth by the Quakers in all six singles competitions, the Spiders were able to outplay Penn in all but two matches. Still having to deal with a nagging wrist injury, Penn sophomore Brooke Herman was able to capture one Quakers win. Co-captain Lara Afanassiev secured the other. Despite the enthusiasm of the Quakers going into the match, they could not overcome the consistent play of Richmond. "We were pumped to play," Penn sophomore Julia Feldman said. "We were excited about them coming here. Their whole team was just very solid." The Red and Blue and the Spiders were evenly matched in terms of ability, seen in the results of the singles matches. Five of the six matches were determined in the third set. "Everyone fought really hard," Herman said. "Every match was really close. It was good preparation for the Ivy League season." Playing in the No. 2 spot, Afanassiev lost the first set, 6-3. In the second set, she was able to play a better game, this time winning in nine games. Afanassiev had competed against her opponent, Bridget Merrick, in the past as both played junior tennis in the East together, and she used this experience to her advantage in the third set, which she won, 6-1. "I've known this girl for years, so I was prepared," Afanassiev said. "I could totally read her game, so it [the third set] was much better." Playing in the No. 5 singles position, Herman's match also came down to a suspenseful third set. After losing a close first set, 6-4, Herman went on to win the second with a score of 6-3. Up 5-3 in the third set, Herman's opponent came back to tie the score at five each. Determined to win the match, Herman was victorious in the next two games, making the final score 7-5. Although she lost in the third set, Karen Ridley put up a particularly strong fight against her competition in the No. 3 singles slot. "She played right down to the wire, and that was very impressive," Penn coach Michael Dowd said. Following the singles matches, Richmond was ahead of the Quakers, 4-2, and the Spiders made good use of this psychological advantage, as they defeated Penn in all three matches. Both Afanassiev and Herman, paired with Feldman and sophomore Karen Ridley, respectively, were unable to find the success of their previous matches in their doubles competitions. The team of freshmen Anastasia Pozdniakova and Elana Gold also fell to Richmond. "They [Richmond] had a lot of momentum, and they carried it over to the doubles matches," Dowd said. "We had some good chances. We just didn't take them." Although this weekend's loss was a difficult one for the Quakers, they have learned from their mistakes and look forward to using the knowledge they have gained against their Ivy League competitors.