M. Tennis to open Ivies at Yale, Brown

It's all about the Ivies. That's what any of the members of the Penn men's tennis team will tell you. And that's why playing well this weekend means so much to the Quakers. The Red and Blue (7-5) will travel to New England this weekend to take on Yale (12-1) and Brown (8-6) in their first Ivy League match-ups of the season. While the Quakers defeated both the Elis and Bears last spring, the margin of victory was slim in both cases. Penn beat Yale, 5-2, and Brown, 4-3. "We expect two very well-prepared teams," Penn sophomore Ryan Harwood said. "Both teams are much improved from last year, and they're out to prove something. The big test is to see how far we've come from the fall and see where we are." At the No. 1 position, Penn junior Fanda Stejskal will likely take on the Elis' Steve Berke, who took last year off to play in professional events as an amateur. The return of Berke helped the Elis notch an impressive win over New Mexico, one of the top programs in the country and a team that edged the Quakers in a heartbreaker earlier this season. The Bears, meanwhile, have a young team, with only one senior and one junior heading the line-up. Thus, the outcome of either of Penn's matches this weekend is anyone's guess. "There might not have been this much parity [in the Ivy League] in the past 10 years," Brown's head coach John Croboy said. "I wouldn't be surprised if it went 4-3 or 3-4 either way." According to Stejskal, the matches won't necessarily be decided by skill alone. "There's not too much of a talent differential," Stejskal said. "It's more about desire to win or lack of motivation. But motivation won't be a problem. It's always there in the Ivies." For each of the teams in the Ancient Eight, there's no question that the matches this weekend will be crucial in setting the tone for the season. With the Ivy League teams only facing each other once per season and no postseason tournament to decide the winner of the Ivy title, getting off to a strong start in the conference is a huge advantage in terms of final standings. This is especially true for the Quakers, a squad matched very evenly with Yale and Brown -- their first Ivy opponents of the season. "In the Ivies, Yale, Penn and Brown are the middle of the pack," Harwood said. "Whoever comes out on top this weekend will be competing with Princeton and Harvard for the title. "I'm expecting a very, very intense weekend of a roller coaster of emotions."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.