W. Tennis challenges itself with schedule

Penn's success last season has prompted it to face a tougher slate of teams this spring. The Penn women's tennis team has already lost more matches than it lost all of last season, and the Quakers have yet to set foot on the Lott Courts. It is not that the Quakers are putting forward a less formidable squad this season. It is just that Penn's schedule has a much more difficult array of opponents than in the past. "Typically we haven't played so many tough matches," Penn coach Michael Dowd said. "A tough schedule is really going to help us. The only way to get better is to see a high level of competition." The Red and Blue's breakthrough campaign of last spring, in which they posted a 19-2 record, has convinced many tougher programs that the Quakers are a worthy opponent. Penn will face such notable teams as Stanford, Fresno State and UNLV this spring, and the Quakers will use those early-season matches to better prepare themselves for the rigors of Ivy League competition. The early going has not been all about challenges for the Quakers, though. Penn handily defeated Temple, 7-2, and has swept two matches, 9-0, against Army and Drexel. Against tougher opponents, however, things have not gone quite so well for Penn. On January 30, the Red and the Blue dropped a disappointing 6-3 decision to No. 54 Virginia. The Quakers have also fallen to Penn State and Richmond -- both by 5-4 margins. But Penn, which has been playing at the Levy Tennis Pavillion, has shown some resiliency in those losses. Against both the Nittany Lions and the Spiders, the Quakers trailed 4-2 before falling just short on the comeback trail. "[It's] still early in the season," Penn senior Anastasia Pozdniakova said. "Some of our players didn't have the confidence level we have at the Ivies. Some of the points didn't go our way, and it's a game of points." But the Quakers know that as the season goes on and the Ivy opponents approach, some of those points will start to swing their way. "Those are the type of matches we need before the Ivies, so we know where to improve," Penn sophomore Louani Bascara said. "It's good to play under pressured conditions." Penn senior captain Elana Gold believes the Quakers have improved in doubles, which is key to winning matches. "A lot of matches come down to doubles," she said. "From the very first day of practice we've been working on doubles, and with every match we get more confident with our partners." From practice, the Quakers' doubles tandems have grown stronger, to the point where Dowd feels they may be Penn's strength. "If we pick up the singles a little bit, we'll be pulling off some upsets," he said. In addition to their tougher out-of-conference schedule, the Quakers have changed their training practices, adding new elements for their conditioning. The team members have been running longer than usual and jumping rope. They have also recently added weight training to their program. The Quakers recently welcomed UCLA sophomore transfer Rochelle Raiss to the team. Though the team lineup has not yet been formalized, Raiss will be starting at least in doubles this season. "She's a tremendous asset to our team in both singles and doubles," Gold said of her new teammate. Last weekend, Raiss competed with juniors Shubha Srinivasan and Lenka Beranova in the Princeton Invitational, an individual tournament. In singles, Srinivasan advanced to the semifinals before falling to Boston College's Cynthia Tow. Beranova made it to the second round before Temple's Tamara Truta defeated her in a close 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 battle. Raiss and Beranova then teamed up for doubles, and the two made it to the semifinals before falling to a team from Dartmouth. Gold said the team is excited about spring break, when they will fly to Northern California and Las Vegas. When they return, the Quakers will face a string of seven consecutive Ivy matches, beginning with Princeton on April 1. Before all of that gets underway, however, the Quakers will fly southward this Friday to play Clemson and No. 48 Georgia Tech. "They have very good programs, but they're winnable matches," Dowd said. "I expect to do very well."