M. Tennis disappoints at home

Four of the seven Quakers entered in the singles draw were eliminated in the first round. After months of playing at tournaments with titles such as the the Penn State Invitational and the Princeton Fall Invitational, the Penn men's tennis team finally had a tournament all its own -- the Penn Conference Classic, held this weekend at the Lott and Levy courts. But the tournament might as well have been at Penn State or Princeton, as the Quakers' presence was held to a minimum due to early exits. Competing in a field of nine teams, including four other Ivies -- Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia and Cornell -- plus Ohio State, Northwestern, Virginia and Minnesota, the Quakers had hoped to capitalize on their home-court advantage and fan support. And the chances for a Penn victory seemed all the more tangible because, for the first time in years, a Quaker was seeded in the tournament. On a roll after six straight victories, Fanda Stejskal was penciled in at No. 2 going into the weekend. Yet, as play began on Friday, the Red and Blue quickly lost more than half of their contenders for the title. Four of the seven Penn singles players -- Andy Kolker, Brett Meringoff, Brian Barki and Kevin Strouse -- suffered first-round defeats and were placed in the backdraw. Only three Quakers -- Stejskal, Eric Sobotka, and Rob Pringle -- remained in contention. That also changed quickly, as Czech transfer Stejskal and Pringle, a Daily Pennsylvanian photographer, came head-to-head in the second round. It was the first time either had ever played a fellow Quaker outside of practice and the situation provided some levity. "When I came off the court after my first round and found out I was playing Fanda, Gordie told me to 'Go bounce that Czech,'" Pringle said. "It was fun because there was no possibility of any antagonism, and we were both able to joke around, have fun, but still play really hard." For Stejskal the situation was slightly more tense. As No. 1 in Penn's lineup, he had everything to lose if he did not beat his teammate. "It was like friends going out to play, but there definitely was pressure," Stejskal said. "He was playing well and it was very different from practicing together because I knew I had to win." And win he did, posting a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Stejskal was not the only Quaker to advance. He was joined in the third round by co-captain Eric Sobotka, who beat Cornell's Mike Mestell in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. However, neither got to the fourth round, as both Stejskal and Sobotka were turned back by Northwestern players. Stejskal lost 6-2, 6-2 to Jamie Sahara, while Sobotka lost to eventual finalist, No. 3 seed Joost Hol. Although no Quakers advanced past the third round, some of the important occurrences were so subtle they were not recorded in the results. For two of the Penn racketeers who have not had much exposure this season, the tournament was a chance to showcase their talent. Freshman Andy Kolker, who only played in one other tournament this fall, took Minnesota's Karl Sloss to three sets before falling 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. "Andy's play was definitely one of the positive things this weekend," Penn coach Gordie Ernst said. "He went out and played a great three-set match and almost beat [Sloss]." Joining Kolker in the highlights reel was sophomore Kevin Strouse, who also made a comeback in impressive fashion. Playing against Northwestern's Russell Bennett in the backdraw, Strouse went down 6-2, 5-2 before rallying to take the second set, 7-5. He eventually fell to his opponent in the third set. "Strouse played a great match in the consolation round," co-captain Meringoff said. "He was down and fought back, losing by 7-5 in the third set. His match shows the determination and heart our team has." Strouse not only had a memorable singles match, but his doubles match was memorable as well -- if only for the fact that his partner was Minnesota's Sloss. The two were put together at the last minute when Minnesota was searching for a doubles partner for Sloss. Though it was the duo's first time playing together, their 8-4 loss to Northwestern was on par with the play of Penn's other doubles teams. The tandem of Kolker and Jared Corby recorded an 8-5 loss to Penn State, while the No. 1 doubles team of Meringoff and Ryan Harwood was beaten 8-3 by the Big Red. "Doubles was very disappointing. Ryan and I can play a lot better and we know it," Meringoff said. "We played guys that we know and we know we're better than they are, but they played better than us on Saturday. The two Quakers doubles teams that did play well, however, did not fare much better as both were turned back by the No. 1 seed and eventual champions, Ohio State's team of Chris Porter and Andrew Carlson. The duo of Brian Barki and Pringle lost to Ohio State 8-2 in the third round, while the team of Stejskal and Sobotka succumbed in the quarterfinals, 8-4. The results from this weekend were not what the Quakers had hoped for, nor were they what they expected. Instead of seeing the Red and Blue represented in the finals, it was Minnesota's Jorge Duenas, an unseeded player, who walked away with the individual title, while Ohio State coasted to the doubles title. Yet, the weekend was not only about titles. It was an incredible opportunity for the team to showcase its talent in front of a home crowd and bring great tennis to University City. And, judging from the number of people who stopped by to watch the matches, the tournament was a great success. The Quakers now have the entire winter ahead of them to build on what they have learned from both this weekend and the entire fall season as they turn their attention towards achieving their most important goal -- a strong spring showing.