Patrick edges Di Mauro for third at Invite

After a demoralizing loss to the Tigers last Wednesday, the Quakers headed back to Princeton over the weekend to play in this year's Betty Constable Invitational Tournament. Though only the top 20 intercollegiate players were invited to participate in the individual competition, Penn managed to enter three players -- Jessica DiMauro, Katie Patrick and Helen Bamber. Patrick and DiMauro fared extremely well, as each reached the semifinals before ultimately claiming third and fourth place overall, respectively. Bamber also turned in an impressive showing, knocking off Amherst's No. 1 player and Harvard's No. 4 before falling to Irwin Blair of Princeton. "[Bamber] gained a lot of experience at the tournament," Penn coach Demer Holleran said. "The tournament offered the sophomore the chance to play some difficult matches and build her confidence against some of the toughest collegiate competition." Despite reaching the semifinals, Patrick and DiMauro were disappointed with their performances as both had hoped to advance to the finals and play for the championship. DiMauro was stopped by defending national champion Julia Beaver, Princeton's No. 1. Beaver, who did not lose a single game the entire tournament, repeated last year's performance by finishing first overall. The Beaver-DiMauro semifinal meeting was a rematch of the 1998 finals, when Beaver foiled DiMauro's attempt to three-peat at the Constable Invite. Three-time All-American DiMauro closes her career with two Constable titles to go along with a second and fourth place showing. "Of course I was hoping to play [Beaver] again," said Patrick, referring to her desire to avenge her 3-2 loss to the Princeton sophomore. Patrick played several good matches herself to reach the other semifinal. "I knew their games pretty well and knew how to beat them," said Patrick of her first two matches -- both 3-0 victories. In her semifinal meeting, though, she dropped a four-game contest to Devon Kennedy of Brown. "It was difficult to play a tough game after winning two easily," Patrick said. Ironically, the semifinal losses by DiMauro and Patrick set up a playoff for third place between the two Quakers. They showed little teammate camaraderie though, as they both "played really competitive and were pretty tough," according to Holleran. "Katie played harder in the first two games," Holleran said. But DiMauro turned the tide in the third and fourth games, tying the match 2-2. Taking her momentum into the final game, the Penn co-captain jumped out to an early 8-2 lead on her junior teammate. In an exciting finish, Patrick came from behind, scoring eight unanswered points to take the game 10-8 and win the consolation match. The Constable Invitational offered the Quakers the opportunity to gain some experience without affecting their team record. It also afforded them a chance to earn some confidence -- which they will undoubtedly find useful in their February 13 meeting against undefeated Harvard. "It was a good learning experience," DiMauro said of the tournament. "Now I'm just thinking ahead to intercollegiates and to the meeting with Harvard. A lot of our [Constable] tournament matches against Crimson players were really close and I think we have a good shot at beating them next week."