Ranked and ready: No. 71 M. Tennis set for Ivy pair

Fanda Stejskal owns Harvard.

In the past two seasons, the majority of the Quakers have been annihilated by the Crimson. That is, nearly all of the Quakers with the exception of Stejskal.

The two-time first team All-Ivy selection boasts an unblemished singles' record against Harvard since transferring from Baylor after his freshman season.

Two seasons ago, Penn fell 6-1 to the Crimson. The token victory was Stejskal's -- a 6-4, 6-1 thumping of Harvard's John Doran. Last season the same situation unfolded. The Quakers were crushed, 5-2. Again, Stejskal won in straight sets.

Suffice to say, Stejskal is anxious for his final crack at No. 29 Harvard (8-3, 2-0 Ivy League) on Friday.

"I have never lost to a Harvard guy in my life," Stejskal said. "And I'm not about to start this year."

The Quakers (9-8, 1-2) would be apt to follow their fearless senior leader in what seems to be the more difficult of their two weekend matches. The following day, Penn will head to Hanover, N.H., to do battle with the decidedly less-talented Dartmouth (12-7, 1-1).

"We're aiming for a championship, but things just aren't in our hands right now," Stejskal said. "Still we want to finish at the top. And to do that we must beat these teams."

Penn's hopes for a pair of victories were buoyed -- at least emotionally this week -- when the Quakers made their long-awaited return to the national rankings.

The Red and Blue hadn't been ranked since late February, and this week were put back into the top-75 at No. 71 in the nation.

But Harvard -- who the Quakers will take on at the Beren Tennis Center in Boston -- is certainly not shaking in its K-Swiss.

On paper, the Crimson look ready for a cakewalk. The defending conferences champions have already defeated five ranked teams this season and nearly upset No. 7 Notre Dame in another match.

Plus, Harvard has flat out dominated the Quakers in years past.

But, the match -- as Stejskal knows -- is not played on paper.

"They're No. 29, which is awesome," he said. "But if Harvard scheduled three Notre Dames, they would've lost everything.

"I think they're just a little bit overrated."

Overrated is a word that would not be used to described Penn's second opponent this weekend.

While the Quakers have annually engaged themselves in a battle with Dartmouth for last place in the Ivies, this year the Big Green -- much like Penn -- have witnessed a rebirth.

And with underclassmen at five of their six singles positions, the future is bright for the Big Green.

Still, Penn is the favorite in this match and the Quakers know it. It is a role that is unfamiliar to the Red and Blue and one that they will be hard-pressed to fulfill.

"We need to prove that we can win when we're favored," Stejskal said. "It's easy to relax when you're the underdog.

"But we need to show we can do it when we're supposed to win as well."

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