M. Tennis gets one last chance to shine at Penn Conference Classic

The Penn men's tennis team hopes to redeem a shaky season with a strong showing at home. After the Penn men's tennis team suffered a convincing 7-0 defeat at the hands of Princeton two weekends ago, the Quakers will look to rebound tomorrow on their own turf. The team hosts the Penn Conference Classic Friday through Sunday at the Levy Pavilion. Featured teams include nationally competitive schools such as Clemson, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Virginia and several Ivy programs. "It's a great chance for these guys to experience the best of national competition as well as earn some respect," Penn coach Gordie Ernst said. "They're going up against the best of the best." The fall season for the men's team has been anything but consistent. The Red and Blue opened up the season on a very promising note by capturing the Tim Berman Invitational at Swarthmore. Every player fared well as Penn collected several impressive victories. Yet the two tournaments that followed at Princeton University were quite the opposite. Only one player was able to pick up a victory in the two-week span. "We need to play more consistently, and we have to fight for it," freshman Brian Barki said. "We [have] to want it more. Everyone has to want it more." However, the team is confident that this weekend will be the turning point of the season. Everyone is out to prove something not only to the other teams, but to themselves. "I think it's a really good chance for our team to prove that we are someone to contend with," junior Uday Garg said. "We really need to pick up our intensity and win more matches." The Penn Classic will be one of the most important tournaments all year for the Quakers, not only because they are the hosts but because they are expected to win more matches now that they are back home. All of the players realize the significance of winning matches to the team, including the freshmen. "We want to show all of these players that this is our house," freshman Kevin Strauss said. "And that they are in for a long, rough weekend. "We have to approach this weekend with the mindset that each point is huge, and we should be ready to stay out there and grind for hours if that's what it takes to win. It all comes down to who wants it and who is ready to leave their heart out on the court." Ernst and the rest of the team can't wait to get out on the courts. They are confident that their perseverance and will to win will pay off. "We've been training pretty hard and I think we are all ready to go," Garg said. Yet Ernst said it comes down to which team really wants to win it the most on the court. "It's the desire to keep balls in play and do whatever it takes against these guys to make sure that we don't lose," Ernst said. "That's the big thing." The major concern on the tennis team is not about winning or losing individual matches, but rather winning or losing as a team. Ernst feels that as they become more team-oriented, they will become more consistent. Ernst and Barki put it best. The two said from now on this team is all about "big we" and "little me."