Don't be fooled by that disarming smile, because Old Dominion's Nataly Cahana is meant to be feared.
The numbers tell the whole story -- her domination can be quantified in her lifetime 66-9 singles record and her No. 5 national ranking.
And when No. 24 Alice Pirsu took her on during last Saturday's victory over Old Dominion, the match turned into a battle of women's tennis heavyweights.
Though Pirsu would drop her match 6-7, 6-7 to Cahana, the Quakers were able to pick up a big non-conference victory winning, 5-2, against the No. 31 Monarchs, before falling in their second contest of the weekend, 5-2, to No. 49 William and Mary.
Pirsu's battle at the No. 1 singles spot against Old Dominion symbolized the grit of the young Quakers on Saturday.
In the first set of a three-hour nailbiter, Cahana struck first, barely eking out a 7-6 win.
After pulling out a victory in the first set, Cahana raced out to a comfortable 4-1 lead, before Pirsu rallied to give her a scare.
"When I was down 4-1 and everyone ran to my court to cheer me on," Pirsu said. "That made me feel like I had to fight for my teammates."
Penn's top singles player clawed her way back to force a tiebreaker, before ultimately dropping the second set and the match.
Though up against the No. 5 player in the nation, Penn coach Michael Dowd -- much like the teammates who crowded the Romanian native's court -- stood by his battling sophomore.
"At home she would have won," Dowd said.
In the weekend's second match, Penn was unable to capitalize off of its emotional high following the victory over the Monarchs, dropping all three doubles to William and Mary.
"It was really hard for us to begin by losing all three doubles matches," sophomore Sanela Kunovac said.
The Quakers were unable to rally after dropping the doubles point, finishing the match on the short end of a 5-2 score.
Picking up the only victories for Penn were Pirsu and Kunovac.
"Against William and Mary we were tired, and they were a little bit quicker," Kunovac said.
Though Penn looked a little sluggish in its second match, Pirsu was happy with the team's effort overall.
"This weekend was a test," she said. "We opened the season with two hard matches back to back and the results make us realize that we are up there.
"We have great depth, and we can continue to beat tough teams like these."
She also reflected positively on her first weekend playing in team competition.
"I feel fortunate to be part of a tennis program like this where
we have such good chemistry," she said.
Coming up in the next few weeks, Penn will look to boost its record against a pair of weaker Army and Seton Hall squads before their annual matchup with No. 50 Penn State.
Though the Red and Blue lost 5-2 to the Nittany Lions last season, the Quakers are eager for revenge.
"We lost to Penn State last year, but this year they are coming to us," Kunovac said. "I know that if we are in the same mindset as we were during this past weekend we could win."
Echoing her teammate, Pirsu reasoned the Quakers seemingly extreme confidence.
"We're not cocky, we're just willing to fight," she said.
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