W. Tennis tries to chew up Big Red on Lott Courts

The Penn women's tennis team faces Cornell today at home in its third consecutive Ivy League match. Last Tuesday, Columbia offered the Penn women's tennis team warm hospitality in more ways than one. The Quakers, however, don't plan to be such giving hosts when they host Cornell this Saturday at noon on the Lott Courts. "I expect a war," Penn coach Michael Dowd said. "I've been looking forward to this match for a year. We should win it." The Lions offered the Quakers -- 10-6, 1-1 Ivy League -- little resistance as Penn steamrolled its way to a 7-2 victory. The team lost only one doubles match and one singles match. The win against the Lions was especially significant because it followed a tough 5-4 loss to Princeton last weekend. "The match really helped our confidence coming off the loss to Princeton," senior Lara Afanassiev said. "We were definitely supposed to beat [Columbia], but we didn't take them lightly." While the Lions weren't enough to frustrate the Quakers, the playing conditions were. The match was played in an air dome which gave the Quakers extremely hot temperatures to battle. The air dome, a bubble-shaped arena, trapped the New York City heat inside its walls. "I was pleased that we didn't get down despite the heat," junior Brooke Herman -- who won her fourth singles match against Columbia 6-1, 6-1 -- said. "We were really determined in every match." The Quakers were also playing on clay, which added another element to the matches. The playing surfaces at Penn, along with most other schools, are hardcourts. The team returns to the Lott Courts this weekend for its match against Cornell. The Big Red -- 6-3 before Tuesday's match against Syracuse -- upset the Quakers in Ithaca last year, and Penn is ready to earn its revenge. Cornell finished one game behind the Quakers in last year's Ivy League standings and weren't supposed to win the head-to-head match. But Penn didn't play its best tennis, and the Big Red walked away with a 5-4 surprise victory. "The Cornell match was really a wake-up call for us last year," Afanassiev said. "It made us more ready to play the rest of the season. We definitely can't take them lightly." The Quakers have two solid days of practice before Saturday's match and hope to be peaking by then. The team plans to focus on doubles, consistency and above all else, mental preparation. "It's really important that we are mentally ready to play Cornell, from 1-to-6 singles and 1-to-3 doubles," Dowd said. "I am expecting special performances from Julia Feldman and Rina Borromeo. They both seem to be very focused right now." The Quakers had hoped to be 2-0 going into Saturday's match. Unfortunately, the close loss to Princeton prevented that. Still, with five matches left and only one conference loss, the team remains optimistic about the Ivy League season. "We still think that we can win the conference," Afanassiev said. "We must concentrate on every match and win the rest [of them]." Cornell is the first of those must-win matches, so forgive the Quakers if their hospitality isn't especially warm.