W. Tennis makes first-ever trip to Ohio St.

The Penn women's tennis team headed west for the weekend to the Ohio State Invitational, where it will challenge some of the top schools in the nation. The Quakers, who will play at the Invitational for the first time in team history, will battle teams that receive consistent national exposure and recognition, and that have lineups stocked with nationally ranked players. Notre Dame, Kansas and Georgia Tech highlight the impressive list of schools that will join the Quakers in Columbus -- all of them rich in tennis history and athletic glory. All of these programs are perennial national contenders and historically draw high-caliber players to their programs. "The teams we are going to be playing against, they have experience on their side," Quakers captain Karen Ridley said. "I think we are equal in talent, but they are used to seeing a higher level of competition on a more consistent basis than we are. They have the experience of always playing in very tough matches." Penn hopes to learn from its trip to the Midwest where it is as a team at this point in the season. They also want to see in which areas they need to improve in order to reach the level of a team ranked in the top 50 nationally, a goal of the Quakers this season. "This is a chance to play against teams we don't usually play," said Penn coach Michael Dowd. "It is an opportunity to be on the same court with a Notre Dame or a Kansas. "We get to see a higher level of competition then we normally see. It will help us to improve as a team." However, the Quakers do not plan on simply rolling over for these teams stacked with jaw-dropping talent. They feel they possess all the weapons necessary to compete at this level. "When you play against a higher level of competition, your game automatically improves," sophomore Shubha Srinivasan said. "You bring your game up to that next level." The level of competition at the Ohio State Invitational is not the only thing that the Quakers will benefit from. The format of the tournament will provide all the players with a lot of match experience. The tournament is broken down into eight singles flights and four doubles flights with each player guaranteed at least three matches: two singles and one doubles. In the past weeks, all the Quakers have been training hard to fine-tune their games in preparation for this weekend's showdown with these teams, especially the seniors who feel a sense of urgency now that their time in collegiate tennis is quickly coming to a close. "I've been trying to give 100 percent every day in practice. I am trying to make tennis one of my top priorities," senior captain Brooke Herman said. "I want to get something out of practice every day." The Quakers venture to Ohio State not just for the experience or national exposure that comes with competing at the very highest level. They expect to win each time they step out on the court, and they hope to return home with not only match toughness and experience but with trophies to attest to their talent.