The Penn men's tennis team was showing all the signs of vast improvement last weekend at the Penn State Invitational in State College, Pa. -- and then the rain started falling.
On day one -- the only day of matches -- the Quakers scored some impressive individual victories.
As a top seed in the tournament, Penn senior captain Ryan Harwood continued his stellar fall season, defeating Chris Hagen of Marist in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.
"I'm playing well," said Harwood. "I'm on a streak. I have all the confidence going into the ITAs."
Sophomore David Lynn joined Harwood as an A-flight semifinalist, defeating David Wynn of Temple in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.
In other singles action, freshman Ed Silver turned in a solid weekend as he topped West Virginia's Jared Anderson, 6-3, 6-4, placing him in the D-flight semifinal.
In addition to starring in singles, the Quakers also showed some improvement in what has been their Achilles' heel all fall -- doubles' play.
Lynn and sophomore Justin Lavner -- the only Penn pair to win a much on the day -- defeated a Temple team 8-0.
"It was a great weekend for me," Lynn said. "I think everyone is starting to play really well."
Lynn redeemed himself after a poor weekend at the ECACs.
"Lynn bounced back nicely from the ECAC," Penn coach Mark Riley said.
"Still, we need to work on doubles. The other doubles teams didn't play well. A small improvement is better than nothing. Our singles' play is solid, we just need to get our doubles to that level."
Harwood, however, felt that the doubles' teams have been unfairly criticized for the team's poor play in the beginning of the fall season.
"We have a lot of potential in doubles," he said.
"We need to find good compliments and better chemistry, and experiment with new combinations. We need to give them more confidence.
"Everyone is starting to build more confidence," he said.
After a much-improved weekend, Penn will host the ITA regional tournament from Oct. 25 -29 -- the most important of the fall season, featuring 96 singles players and 56 doubles teams.
While receiving an invite to to the tournament is a formidable challenge, Penn hopes to have several competitors at the tournament, though it will be largely based on results from the ECACs.
According to Harwood, Penn is looking for "three or four," to make the final field.
If their showing at Penn State is any indication, the Quakers are poised for a breakout weekend at the end of this month.
"I wish we had a chance to play the tournament through," Riley said. "It was encouraging."
