W. Tennis blows past Lions, gears for tough weekend

Penn did not allow a point in beating Columbia, 9-0, but now face Harvard and Dartmouth. Improving its Ivy League record to 2-1 on Tuesday, the Penn women's tennis team had no mercy on Columbia. With a final score of 9-0, the Lions were unable to earn a single point against the Quakers. The loss was all too familiar to the Lions, as they came to the Lott Courts with a record of 0-2 in the Ivy League. Traditionally, Penn faces Columbia during the weekend of the Penn Relays, but this year the Quakers found benefits in the change of date. "It was another match under our belts," Penn coach Michael Dowd said. "It was another win to give us more confidence for the upcoming two weeks, and I think that's really going to help us." Normally, the Red and Blue face tougher opponents, such as Harvard or Brown, before playing the Lions. Except for the positioning of freshman Elana Gold in the No. 6 singles spot, the Quakers went with their usual lineup. Penn dominated all six singles matches, and no match was forced to a third set. Ignoring the distracting wind, the same six Quakers continued to pound away at the Lions in doubles action. The closest Columbia came to winning a match was in the No. 1 doubles match, but Gold and sophomore Julia Feldman managed to pull out the win by a score of 9-8. Penn hopes to continue its winning streak at tomorrow's match against Harvard at 2 p.m. and Saturday's competition with Dartmouth at noon, both to be played at home on the Lott Courts. Before the season even began, the Quakers noted the Crimson and Brown as their toughest Ivy League competitors. Ranked 25th in the country, Harvard will be the first of the two challenges for Penn. Although the Quakers lost to the Crimson 6-1 last year, they feel confident that this year may result in a different outcome. At the Princeton Invitational in the fall, Penn sophomore Karen Ridley came extremely close to beating Princeton's No. 2 singles player. If Penn can come out on top in tight matches like that one, the Tigers could very well leave Philadelphia with a record of 0-1 in the Ivy League. "Harvard is a team that we can definitely play with," Dowd said. "There's no doubt." Whatever happens tomorrow, though, must be forgotten on Saturday, as the Quakers will need to devote all of their concentration to the Big Green. "Last year, they were down, but this year they're playing a lot better," Dowd said. "We have to make sure after Harvard we refocus on Dartmouth." Although Penn was victorious against the Big Green last year, the Quakers must keep in mind Dartmouth has since gained many talented, new players. With results like he saw on Tuesday, Dowd has no reason to make changes in the strategy for his team prior to this weekend. In preparation for this weekend, the Quakers plan to continue concentrating on improving their doubles play during practice this week. "We just have to be ready to go," Dowd said. "We have to be mentally prepared and ready to play every time we step on the court."