M. Tennis players fight for starting jobs

Penn brought its younger players to the Swarthmore Invite., to gauge their level of competition. The Penn men's tennis team opened its season at the Swarthmore Invitational tournament last weekend with convincing play by some lesser-known players. Quakers coach Gene Miller took freshmen and other players vying for positions on the starting squad to the Philadelphia suburbs for the early-season test. Other teams, including Yale and Providence, brought all of their players to the tournament. Despite the tough competition, every Quaker at the tournament was victorious in at least one match. "There were some interesting matches," Miller said. "And all of the freshmen combined for a good showing." The two-day tournament was divided into four divisions, A-flight through D-flight. Miller said junior Tejas Patel was Penn's most successful player. Patel reached the finals in the A-flight singles tournament before losing, 6-0, 6-2. Although pleased with his performance, Patel was not surprised with his success. "I concentrated well in the early matches, and I knew if I played well I could beat anyone," he said. Patel also advanced to the second round in the B-flight doubles with sophomore partner Brian Konigsberg. "Patel's solid play is very positive for Penn tennis," Miller said. Quakers sophomore Bryan Wells also fared well. He reached the D-flight doubles semifinals with freshman partner Rafael Balenes before losing. "It was a good way to open up the season," Wells said. "I could have played better, but now I have more experience under my belt, and the tournament was a good way to see where I'm at after the summer." Among other players who stood out, Balenes had an impressive debut. The freshman from Puerto Rico made it to the D-flight semifinals in singles, losing, 8-6, to the eventual winner. "It was a pretty good tournament in that it was a good way for the freshmen to see what college tournament tennis was like," Balenes said. All of the freshmen received high marks from the veteran players on the team. "The freshmen seemed strong," Patel stated. "Even when they lost, they learned from their mistakes." Overall, Miller was proud of his players' performances at the tournament. "This is the first year that the team has consistently played better in matches than in practice this early in the season," he said. The players who participated in the tournament will have greater opportunities to play this year than younger players on past teams have had due to the loss of some significant players to graduation. The Quakers lost last year's No. 3 and No. 4 singles players, Brad Goldberg and J.J. Cramer. The two graduates also combined to form a second-team All-Ivy doubles team in the 1995-96 season. Penn's will be in action next at the Princeton Invitational next weekend. Miller will bring his full squad to the Invite. The following week, the team will play in the ECAC Championships, where the top 16 teams in the region compete.

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