Pirsu leads way, W. Tennis soars at W&M; invite

Before Sunday's final of the "William" flight against Old Dominion's Nataly Cahana, Alice Pirsu had to be exhausted.

She already played three singles matches, not to mention two doubles matches earlier in the day, and this was only her first weekend of tournament play.

But Pirsu overcame the nation's No. 11 ranked player in decisive fashion, winning the match and tournament in a straight set, 6-3, 6-4 triumph.

"Playing players like her is mentally and physically draining," Pirsu said following her match of Cahana. "I didn't want her to think that she could win it at any time."

The victory was especially sweet for Pirsu, as she had fallen to Cahana, 7-6, 7-6, when the two played in a team match last season.

"It definitely feels good to beat her, we had a close match last time," Pirsu said. "I came out, and I wanted to win."

Pirsu's win was only one of a weekend of successful showings by the Penn's women's tennis team at the 10th Annual William and Mary Tribe Invitational this weekend.

While Pirsu -- the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year -- was the only one to finish the weekend in the winner's circle, juniors Sanela Kunovac and Nicole Ptak and sophomore Shela Chao played well in competition.

Kunovac battled her way through the "Mary" Flight, winning three of her four matches. Her only loss came to Kate Boomershine of William and Mary, who was cheered on heartily by the home crowd.

After her second round letdown, Kunovac responded in a big way, hammering her opponents in the consolation bracket. Kunovac finished her weekend with a 6-2, 6-3 thumping of Maryland's Ramona But.

The weekend offered two of Penn's less-publicized standouts, Chao and Ptak, an opportunity to showcase their games on a national stage.

And both were up to the challenge.

Ptak bounced back from two tough losses in the "Mary" Flight, to capture her final two contests. Ptak beat Minnesota's Jeanette Cluskey 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in three tough sets.

Chao competed in the "Green" Singles, breezing through her first three matches before running into Amy Wei in the finals. Wei, also from William and Mary, outlasted Chao to capture the title.

While the Quakers impressive showing is far from a predictor of future Ivy triumphs, Penn still believes that it has sent a message with its successful opening weekend.

"It shows that the team is ready to play," Pirsu said. "It shows that we take it seriously even early in the fall season, even in the individual tournaments.

"Every match that we win, every tournament that we win, it is going to tell how we are going to treat the whole year and how we're going to play," she said.

Penn hopes to continue turning heads this weekend when it competes at the Leary Memorial invite.

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