Clad in navy blue warmups and a long-sleeved shirt, with a red ski cap covering her long blond hair, Nataly Cahana was dressed warmly and somewhat comfortably.
But she also somehow exuded an aura of toughness, in a way befitting her utter dominance at this weekend's Penn-hosted Cissie Leary Invitational.
Cahana, the Old Dominion star and No. 4 player in the nation, only lost 13 games in her five-match romp to the Tournament title.
In the process, Cahana quickly countered virtually everything thrown at her.
She lost only 13 games in her five-match romp to the tournament title, showing an uncanny ability to save points that seemed to be winners in the process.
"I fight and do not allow any free points," Cahana said.
Cahana did just that in a 6-2, 6-1 semifinal victory on Sunday morning against Penn sophomore captain Sanela Kunovac.
"She had Sanela's number," Penn coach Michael Dowd said. "But Sanela's tough and she'll bounce back."
Later that day, Cahana, a native Israeli, went on to win the singles title for the Invitational over Ohio State's Monica Rincon, 6-2, 6-0.
But all was certainly not lost for Penn last weekend. Kunovac paved the way for the Red and Blue in the elite competition.
The field featured 13 teams and seven of the top 100 players in the nation and provided an ideal chance for the Penn women's tennis team to test itself against the country's best.
While Old Dominion's star blazed through the singles bracket of the tournament, she also teamed up with Ana Radeljevac to win the doubles tournament against Penn's doubles team of Raluca Ciulei and Shelah Chao in the finals.
As newcomers to the team -- Chao is a freshman and Ciulei a transfer student from Virginia Commonwealth -- both Penn players have quickly made an impact on the tennis scene.
"I thought it was exciting," Chao said of the tournament. "I have four years to play here and I thought it was good to get the experience [in this type of tournament]."
In the singles tournament, Chao upset Yale's top seed in the tournament, Anne Goldberg, and also won her subsequent match against Seton Hall's Lorett Zarnott.
"Shela Chao had a very good showing against [Goldberg]," Dowd said. "She played a tough three-hour match and also managed to take a set off Ohio State's number one."
The format of the tournament also allowed Penn to showcase its multidimensional team outlook for the season.
"This was a very solid effort," Dowd said. "Our depth was impressive. Our lower players competed very well."
Penn monopolized the consolation finals of the doubles tournament, where Quakers Kate Williams and Linda Leibfarth defeated the Red and Blue's Michelle Yeh-Brandy Williams duo.
Penn's Rachel Shweky also reached the consolation final of the singles tournament, but lost to Goldberg.
As the season continues, Penn's depth will be its driving force in its competition at the Riviera Classic in Pacific Palisades, Calif., starting next Monday.
The team will look to compound this weekend's success in the upcoming matches in the Golden State.
"I thought we had a good tourney," Chao said. "Everyone did pretty well."
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