M. Tennis drops one to Tigers

Everything went as planned Saturday for the Penn men's tennis team, except the outcome.

After getting swept in doubles to start off the day, the Quakers (10-7, 0-1 Ivy League) could not make up the ground and fell to the Princeton Tigers (8-6, 1-0), 4-3, in Philadelphia.

As predicted, the doubles matches, which the Red and Blue had been coasting through the past few weeks, decided the final outcome.

"Doubles are important, especially since many games are 4-3," Penn senior Fanda Stejskal said before this weekend's match. "They are often the deciding point."

In their first Ivy League match of the year, Princeton's Tim Kofol and Judson Williams took down Penn's Stejskal and Ryan Harwood at No. 1, 9-8, after a 7-3 tiebreaker.

Stejskal and Harwood were down, 7-3, then fought back to tie it at seven before falling in the end.

"[Fanda and I] are capable of beating anyone," Harwood said. "Unfortunately, we just let up early."

Princeton then promptly took No. 2 and 3 doubles, and the teams geared up for an absolute slugfest in singles.

"It was a great atmosphere," Harwood said. "There were a ton of fans there, and it was great to be at home."

Williams defeated Stejskal, 6-3, 6-2 at No.1, but Harwood was able to turn his game around and won the final two sets, 6-4, 6-2, after dropping the first, 6-1, against Josh Burman at No. 3.

The Red and Blue's Brian Barki won in straight sets at No. 4, but Penn freshman Todd Lecher fell in consecutive sets at No. 5.

Penn freshman Anthony Pu continued his phenomenal play of late with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Dan Friedman at No. 6. It was Pu's sixth straight singles victory.

When the dust settled, only the Tigers' Trevor Smith and Penn freshman David Lynn were left to decide the match.

"I had just won my match, and Pu won his, so we really had the momentum going in our way," Harwood said.

Lynn put up a good fight, but eventually the more experienced Smith prevailed, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2.

"It was a lot of fun," Lynn said. "There were a ton of people watching, and it was really intense."

"They just had the right person on the court; he's unflappable," Harwood said. "But I'm proud of Dave... I would be more than happy to have him on in a 3-3 match again."

The Quakers will try to continue their improved play this weekend when they host two of the favorites to win the league.

First up is Yale at 2 p.m. tomorrow, who is led by all-American, reigning Ivy League Player of the Year and No. 1 in the region, Steve Berke.

Saturday, the Quakers host Brown at noon. The Bears (5-9) are coming off of a road win against Tulane -- who is ranked 22nd in the nation -- which is by far their biggest win of the year.

"If we beat these two teams," Harwood said, "we have a shot at winning the title.

"It's great that the matches are at home. They're very doable; I'm looking forward to it."

"It's an excellent opportunity," Lynn said. "We know that we can compete with all these teams."

If everything goes Penn's way again this weekend, they may even come out with a couple of upset victories.

"Every team's beatable," Harwood said. "We're determined to do well."

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