W. Tennis wraps up best year in history

The Penn women's tennis team celebrated the end of its season Monday night with a well-deserved banquet, organized for the men's and women's teams of both tennis and squash. One day earlier, the Quakers finished their season by trouncing Cornell 9-0 on the road to close the year with a 17-1 spring season record, 6-1 in the Ivy League. The Quakers certainly capped off the year with a bang, capturing all three doubles matches and not requiring a third set in any of the six singles matchups. Although the No. 49 Red and Blue looked good going into the match against the unranked Big Red (8-8, 1-5), the win speaks well of the team's play all season. "We all really wanted to go out on a positive note, with a victory," senior tri-captain Brooke Herman said. "The team did a good job of staying focused for this last week. We had a good week of practice and everyone went out there and played their hearts out. Every single person on this team should feel extremely proud." Herman herself had one of her season's best matches, dismantling her singles opponent in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, and teaming with junior Anastasia Pozdniakova to rout Cornell at No. 2 doubles, 8-1. "Of course I wanted to win my last match convincingly," Herman said. "The girl I played was very good but I played aggressively and I pretty much dominated." In many ways, this season has been among the team's best ever. The most notable accomplishments include a near perfect record -- blemished only by a loss to perpetual conference champion Harvard --the possibility of owning the team's first-ever share of the Ivy championship and the highest national ranking in Penn's history. Penn coach Michael Dowd, in only his third season at the helm, instilled in his players the desire for an Ivy title, and the Quakers started concentrating on this goal before the season even began. Under the leadership of senior tri-captains Herman, Karen Ridley and Julia Feldman, the Quakers came only a stone's throw away from an undefeated season and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. "I think we did all the right things and everyone put in their best effort and wanted it so bad," Ridley said. "We were just a little unlucky with Harvard and they came to play. But I'm not disappointed with the match we played against them, just the result. All in all, we had an absolutely awesome season, better than any of my four years here." Dowd is quick to place the credit for Penn's performance this year on his captains. "About once every century you have three leaders in the same class on one team," Dowd said. "They run this team, motivate everybody and get everyone ready to play. There's no doubt about it, they are the reasons for our success." At the team banquet, the tri-captains were each awarded Most Valuable Player honors, receiving both a plaque and the thanks of fellow team members for their years of dedication to Penn tennis. Senior Corin Esterowitz received the Most Inspirational Player award and Shubha Srinivasan was named Most Improved. "Being on the team has been one of the most special experiences of my life and I will never forget it," Herman said. "It has been an honor to be on the best team in Penn history and it was just a great ending to my career. But if there were ever a time to leave, I'm glad I am going when my team is on top and I'm playing strong." All three captains, while expressing sadness over graduating and having played their final collegiate match, said they feel they are not leaving Penn -- or the tennis team -- behind. "This will definitely be one of the most memorable moments in my life, and I will always remember this year," Feldman said. "I know I will stay in touch with the members of my team, with Mike [Dowd] and the tennis program."