Quakers down W. Virginia at home

The Penn men's tennis team downed visiting West Virginia to remain undefeated in the spring. Saturday afternoon, the men's tennis team got revenge on the University of West Virginia. After last year's 4-3 loss to the Mountaineers (0-9), the Quakers were determined to return the favor in '99. Penn (4-0) beat West Virginia 4-3 to remain undefeated this season. "West Virginia has always had good teams in the past," Penn coach Gordie Ernst said. "They're solid right through the lineup." The match started off with doubles competition. Playing No. 1 doubles, senior captain Jordan Szekely and sophomore Eric Sobotka lost to Mike Dektas and Ryan Shaffer, 8-5. Penn's No. 2 doubles combination, juniors Brett Meringoff and Dominic Rioux, fell 8-2 to the Mountaineers' James Kent and Guillaume Raux. Penn's third doubles team, made up of senior Uday Garg and freshman Brian Barki, triumphed 8-4 over Ion Vlad and Irakli Tatishuili, 8-4. Penn still lost the doubles point, which goes to the team that wins two out of the three doubles matches. "It was a little discouraging," Meringoff said. "The doubles point is key but we knew what we had to do and we came together and did it." In order to win the match, the team had to win at least four of the six singles matches. Playing No. 1, Sobotka trounced his opponent, 6-3, 6-2. But Sobotka still believes that this year's Mountaineers squad is better than the one that beat the Quakers last year. "They were tough. This was our toughest match this season," Sobotka said. "Last year's [West Virginia] team wasn't as strong on work ethic." Szekely, at No. 2 singles, beat the Mountaineers' Ryan Shaffer, 6-2, 6-3. "[Shaffer] was good," Szekely said. "I was really fired up because we lost last year." Sophomore Joey Zupan, No. 3 singles, lost to opponent James Kent, 7-6, 6-2. Meringoff swept his opponent, Ion Vlad, 7-6, 6-2. "He was a good all-around player," Meringoff said. "He made me work for every point." With the match tied at 3-3, freshman Brian Barki was still in the middle of a heated match at No. 5 singles. A Penn victory lay in Barki's court. Barki took his opponent, Tatishuili, to the third set, eventually beating him, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4. "He did not miss at all," Barki said of Tatishuili. "The first set I was playing really well and attacking him. He started getting momentum the second set. I didn't play badly, but he rose to the occasion." Barki was not discouraged by his first-set loss. "I knew I had to keep grinding and setting up the point, and I'd come out on top," Barki said. Barki's win was especially impressive considering he is only a freshman. "Brian did a great job. He kept his composure, and he didn't let pressure get to him," Ernst said. "He played to win." "The way he played, especially for a freshman, showed a lot of poise and experience," Meringoff said. "It's good for a freshman to win a decisive match like that." After losing the first set 6-0, freshman Kevin Strouse battled back to almost win the second set, before falling to Raux, 7-6. The Quakers' undefeated record this spring is especially important since their fall season was not very successful. "This was a very important match and a big win for us," Sobotka said. "We proved ourselves and showed that we're for real. We're going to surprise a lot of people." The team will head to San Diego and Hawaii over spring break to compete in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship. The Quakers' victory over West Virginia served as good practice for their Ivy League season, which starts after spring break. "It's good that we won in a very competitive match and I'm really proud of how Brian finished it off," Szekely said. "We still have a lot of work to do but this is really only the beginning."