W. Tennis powers to top of the Ivies

(Penn - 5, Harvard - 2) (Penn - 7, Dartmouth - 0)

The Penn women's tennis team is now officially the Ivy League favorite.

Over the weekend, the Quakers (12-6, 5-0 Ivy) confirmed that status by destroying two previously undefeated Ivy teams. Harvard fell, 5-2, and Dartmouth was rocked, 7-0.

As expected, the match against Harvard (8-8, 3-1) was a battle.

"Everyone was playing each point as if it was match point," Penn freshman Kate Williams said.

The Quakers dealt the first blow in their match with Harvard by winning the doubles' point, but nothing came easily.

Penn sophomore Rachel Shweky, who won the deciding match at No. 6 singles, proved just that.

In the second set of her match, Shweky was down, 4-2. Though she had won the first set, 6-4, Shweky could not afford to play a third set, as she was battling shin splints and her stamina was questionable.

Almost on cue, Shweky won the next four games to win the set and to ensure a Quakers' victory.

Shweky shrugs off the role of her injury when it comes to pressure situations.

"I don't know if I was feeling pain," Shweky said, "Because I wasn't thinking about it."

Penn coach Michael Dowd was on the edge of his seat throughout the afternoon.

"The Harvard match was one of the most intense matches I've ever been a part of," he said.

Dowd also said that home-court advantage contributed to Penn's victory.

"This weekend, the fans were like an extra man," Dowd said.

Over 50 rowdy Quakers' faithful showed up with an assortment of cheers and signs. The Crimson were noticeably distracted when fans yelled "Ptak Attack" and "Shweky will wreck you."

Adding to the excitement was the marquee match up of Penn sophomore Alice Pirsu, who is ranked 17th in the nation, and her archrival, No. 23 Courtney Bergman. Bergman had a 2-0 record against Pirsu entering Friday's match.

But that streak was eclipsed by Pirsu in a 10-7 third-set tiebreaker.

"I know that she's been wanting that win for a while," Williams said.

After crushing the Crimson, the Quakers played Dartmouth (14-7, 2-2) the following day.

The match against the Big Green seemed anti-climactic after Friday -- exactly what Dowd feared.

"I was nervous that we wouldn't get up the next day," Dowd said.

His worries proved to be unfounded as his players remained focused with another convincing win.

"After all of the emotion and craziness we knew that we couldn't enjoy the win for more than an hour or two," Shweky said.

The Quakers' 5-2 win nudged them to the top of the standings with a one-game lead on both Harvard and Dartmouth.

This weekend, the Penn will try to add its 14-match Ivy win streak with matches against Ivy doormats Cornell and Columbia. The Quakers are aiming to finish off a second-straight undefeated season and earn second consecutive Ivy crown and NCAA berth.

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