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Penn junior Brian Barki split his two singles' matches against Yale and Brown last weekend. (Stefan Miltchev/DP File Photo)

The Penn men's tennis team looks to rebound from its disappointing 0-2 Ivy League record this weekend as it welcomes Harvard and Dartmouth to its home turf. On Friday, the Quakers (7-7 overall) square off on Hunter Lott Courts against the Crimson, a young team with a tradition of dominance in the Ancient Eight. Penn will face the Big Green on Saturday. If records are any indication of what the Quakers should expect, then Harvard would unquestionably be the tougher foe. The Crimson have climbed to a No. 40 ITA national ranking and currently stand at 2-0 in the Ivy League. In contrast, the Big Green have yet to win an Ivy match this season and are coming off an 0-7 Ancient Eight performance last year. Of course, records never tell the entire story -- especially when all the Ivy teams are so close in ability. "Harvard has been the barometer of the best team in the Ivy League year in and year out," Penn coach Mark Riley said. "But -- I've been saying this all season -- all the teams seem to be on the same level." Dartmouth's performance so far this season is indicative of just how tight the Ivy League title race is. Last weekend, the Big Green barely missed upsetting Columbia, losing 4-3 to last year's Ivy champions. Dartmouth's other Ivy loss was also relatively close, as Cornell edged the Big Green by a 5-2 margin. Indeed, none of the Ivy League matches played so far this spring have been blowouts. And with each team meeting only once this season, every win means that much more in the overall conference standings. After last weekend's disappointing losses to Yale and Brown, the Red and Blue enter this weekend's matches in a precarious position. "There's a sense of urgency now," Penn senior co-captain Rob Pringle said. "We still have the opportunity to salvage the Ivy season, but it has to happen immediately." And while they undoubtedly wish they could turn back time, the Quakers agree that there's no time to dwell on the past. "We can't change what happened [last weekend]," Penn junior Brian Barki said. "We just have to focus on doing well this weekend."

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