Last weekend, the Penn women's tennis team simply did not have enough talent on the court.
The Quakers' top two players, sophomore Alice Pirsu, No. 33 and sophomore captain Sanela Kunovac, No. 95, both played through severe pain against Maryland, No.72. They were each forced to sit out during the match against VCU because of their nagging injuries.
The weekend's scores reflect the condition of the Quakers' stars.
Against an average Maryland team, the hurting favorite barely pulled out a 4-3 win. In their second road match of the weekend, Penn was blown-out by the No. 28 Rams -- in Penn transfer Raluca Ciulei's return to Richmond --by a score of 7-0.
Against the Terps, the match came down to the wire. Pirsu rebounded from a 6-2 first-set loss to win the second set, 6-3.
In the decisive third set, Pirsu edged out her opponent in a 7-6 tiebreaker. Though the level of her play undoubtedly suffered, her performance was impressive given the pain in her right elbow.
Even after Pirsu's inspiring win, the Quakers were only tied at three with the Terps. The last match depended on freshman Shelah Chao. Chao duplicated Pirsu's come-from behind effort to give the Quakers a win.
"Maryland had a lot of fans and momentum, and for a freshman, it was great for her win in that kind of pressure situation," Penn coach Michael Dowd said.
Unfortunately for the Quakers, the match against VCU did not have a similar storybook ending. But some Quakers view their humiliating loss as a learning experience that could help them down the road.
"We got whipped," Dowd said. "Sometimes you learn more from losses. There are players who never lost this badly so now they're looking at what they can improve."
Against the Rams, Penn freshman Michelle Yeh was the only player to force her match to three sets. The Red and Blue remain optimistic that they would have been a more challenging opponent with Pirsu and Kunovac on the court.
"It's tough without them because it moves everyone up in the lineup," Yeh said. "At the same time we feel that we could win without them."
It does not bode well for the Quakers that Kunovac didn't complete two of her last three matches because of her banged up knees. However, she is expected to play with Pirsu during their upcoming West Coast road trip.
The team's spring break schedule includes UC Irvine, No. 17 Fresno State, and No. 53 UCLA.
Team members are especially psyched to play the Bulldogs, since they are the highest ranked team on the Quakers' schedule.
"We are eager to play Fresno because it is a chance for us to boost our rankings, and we know that we could beat them if we play our best," Yeh said.
Dowd thinks that the Quakers will remain a top team if Pirsu and Kunovac see limited action.
"Injuries are part of athletics, and even when we are without someone -- one player doesn't make a team," Dowd said.
