Ernst pleased with M. Tennis results

Gordie Ernst is a happy man. The Penn men's tennis coach is all smiles this week after the Penn squad dominated the Swarthmore Invitational, held September 19-20. The meet consisted of teams from up and down the East Coast, including Boston University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Providence University. All matches were a best out of three sets, single elimination contest. One tiebreak was played to decide the winner if there was a split in sets. Penn managed to come away winning two out of the four singles brackets as junior transfer Uday Garg knocked off teammate Tyler Anderson in the D Singles bracket in a third set tiebreak. Junior Brett Meringoff captured Penn's other singles title with a thrilling third set tiebreak win over Providence's Chris Wolken. Ernst couldn't have been more impressed. "Brett played some unbelievable tennis this weekend," Ernst said. "For a guy who hasn't played a competitive match in months, he showed tremendous ability on the court. It makes me feel very proud." The freshmen had a successful outing as well. Both Brian Barki and Steve Rodway won their first ever matches as Quakers before dropping out in the next round. "I almost took out Providence's number one player," Rodway said. "I feel like I played some good tennis." One bad spot for the team was the early departure of Dominic Rioux. The junior had to leave due to a pulled stomach muscle. Penn sophomore Joey Zupan and junior Mike Klatsky also fared well. Klatsky lost a heartbreaking third set tiebreak, 8-6, to Providence's Keith Dressler in the semi-finals of the B Singles. Dressler pulled it out after having five match points against him. Zupan nearly captured the A Singles but fell in a tiebreak to Jamie Williams of Providence. "Overall, we're not in tournament condition," Ernst said. "Some of our guys have to get fitter both mentally and physically." Ernst said that most of the players have the desire, but what is needed is the commitment and perseverance. In doubles action, Anderson and Meringoff claimed the Group D bracket with an 8-6 victory over Swarthmore. The team of Garg -- an Indiana transfer -- and Rodway, as well as the team of Jordan Szekely and Zupan, lost in the finals of their brackets. In other action, Kevin Strauss had an early exit in the pre-qualifiers of the Clay Court Championships held in Baltimore. Szekely, a senior, headed to Baltimore yesterday to play his match. After dominating the weekend invite, Ernst can relax just a bit. Come springtime, however, Ernst will have some tough choices to make. With everyone playing sound tennis currently, Ernst knows how hard it will be to pick the lineup. "The players have to show me that they love the hard work during practice. It should be the most fun part."