M. Tennis looks for more wins at ECACs

The Penn men's tennis team left for Princeton, N.J., yesterday afternoon with high hopes of upsetting the Tigers at the ECAC Championships this weekend. Among the teams scheduled to be there were all of the Ivies as well as Penn State, Virginia Tech and several others. Penn fared dreadfully last week at the Princeton Fall Invitational. With only one Quaker managing to get past the first round, the team hopes to pull out a couple more victories at the Lenz Tennis Center this weekend. Penn coach Gordie Ernst believes that the match will be decided on "who wants it more." On paper, the Tigers are far superior. But on the court, he said, it will come down to attitude. "My guys really need to, in terms of caring, show that they really want to [win]. It all depends on attitude. That's the key," Ernst said. "If they don't care, they should go somewhere else." Uday Garg, who will be playing No. 6 singles for Penn this weekend, believes that the 13th-seeded Quakers have a legitimate shot at beating third-seeded Princeton. "If we all play pretty well, I believe we can win," Garg said. Ernst and the team realize how difficult it will be to pull off an upset against Princeton. Ernst also knows that the Quakers will not get respect from many opponents. However, Ernst feels that being overlooked puts his team at an advantage this weekend. "I think our chances are great. We're going to play every match this year as an underdog," Ernst said. "The good thing is that there is no pressure for the guys. They can go out there and [not be afraid to] go at it because we are not expected to do anything this year." Ernst is no stranger to pulling out upsets. He led his high school hockey team to one of the biggest upsets in Rhode Island history by beating the number one ranked team in the country. "My dad was the coach, and he thrived on being the underdog," Ernst noted. Now he plans to utilize his father's philosophy as a means of coming away with the wins this season. "If I'm doing my job, I'll have my guys ready to pull off upsets like that," said Ernst. That is exactly what Ernst and the Quakers hope to do against Princeton and anyone else they may face this year. By the season's end, Ernst wants to prove that the Quakers will be the team to beat. "Every team will know that Penn is not to be taken lightly," Ernst said. "They'll know that we are going to fight to the end of every match."