W. Tennis goes 21-3 in D.C.

The Quakers posted a 21-3 record in individual play at the Georgetown Invitational in Washington this past weekend. There is nary a sport as solitary as golf, but every two years professional golfers put aside their attempts at individual fame and fortune to compete on behalf of their country in a tournament known as the Ryder Cup. The players who compete in this tournament often talk later of how they had never felt so much pressure before in their lives. It's the pressure, they say, that comes with having the hopes and dreams of others ride upon their own success. The same, it could be said, goes for tennis, and that's why freshman Melissa Perold experienced a similar sensation this past weekend when the Penn women's tennis team traveled to Washington D.C., for its first competitive matches of the season. Although the Georgetown Invitation was an individual tournament, the Quakers looked promising, amassing 21 victories in 24 contests. "I had never really played tennis before on a team," Perold said. "And it was totally different with people cheering for you and rooting you on." It's a feeling that freshman tennis players often have, as many of them elect not to play against the weaker competition that can often be found in high school divisions, as Perold did after her sophomore year. "I really wanted to play college tennis," Perold said. "And playing on my high school team might not have allowed me to get good enough to do that." So Perold, like many high school-age players, spent the time playing on the United Tennis Association's Junior Circuit, where matches are individual and players play only for their own success. That's why this past weekend was like Perold's own personal Ryder Cup, only she won't be returning to the ranks of individual players as golfers do, but will instead have to learn to adapt to team play. To her good fortune and the other freshmen on the team, Penn coach Mike Dowd had scheduled this tournament with them in mind. The invitational was designed for players to get a number of matches in without it counting toward the team's ultimate record. "It was a tournament basically to get everyone's, and in particular the freshmen's, feet wet," Dowd said. "It's quite a transition from individual tennis to college for them." Perold agreed, talking of the nervousness she felt when taking the court for the first time this weekend. She found other people besides family cheering her on for the first time, and she found the meaning of her own success extended beyond what she thought of it. Perold did extremely well, however, as the entire team did this weekend. After overcoming the nervousness she felt in her first match, which ended in a two-set defeat, she went on to win her next three matches. Most of the Penn players met with similar success, with 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 tallies dotting the stat sheet, but Dowd was particularly impressed with sophomore Elana Gold, who he believes could be an important factor for this year's team. The team's other two freshmen, Rena Borromeo and Shuhba Srinivasan, also played their first matches for the Quakers -- and had identical marks of success as Perold. It was also assistant coach Angela Rudert's first time out with Penn. She too had previously been coaching on the individual level in junior tennis and, after this weekend, found what she missed about being part of a team. "I played in high school and coached and I missed it a lot," she said. "The way you get to know people and get to lean on them in competitive play." Perold, despite the added pressure of playing for a team, also agreed after this weekend that it's more fun to play for a team. "It's more exciting." she said "And there's more at stake." Perold recalled her nervousness before the first match because of what was at stake in team play. "I remember losing a big match in a Florida tournament once and having no one there to face afterward but myself, but now it's different." Different it was, but Perold found that it was in a good way. After losing her first match and returning to the sidelines, she found her teammates there to embrace her and tell her it would work out next time. It was something that made that transition that individual players go through a little easier. "After that, it was easy for me," she said. "It was better than having to face losing alone like in Florida and after that I knew they would be there win or lose so I could just compete." She bets Fred Couples and Davis Love III wish they could feel the same way this October.