Two weeks after opening its fall season with disappointing losses at the Navy Invitational, the Penn men’s tennis team hopes to rebound this weekend when it takes part in the ECAC Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
The tournament, held at the site of the recent U.S. Open, will feature 16 northeastern teams in head-to-head format.
The Quakers are seeded eighth and will take on No. 9 Yale in the first round tomorrow. This will be a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal round, when the Elis eliminated Penn, 5-2.
“It should be fun. They knocked us out last year,” senior captain Ryan Harwood said. “They are a good team, but if we play well, we’ll win.”
Last year, Penn fared well at the championships, going 2-1 in the tournament with big wins against Navy and Columbia before losing to Yale in the quarters. The Elis advanced all the way to the finals before losing to Brown, 4-0.
“There shouldn’t be any bad blood left over,” sophomore Todd Lecher said.
Coming off losses to Rutgers and Richmond two weeks ago, the Red and Blue will be able to test themselves against some of the top teams in the Northeast. At the Navy Invitational, a freshman-packed squad was routed by the Scarlet Knights, 5-2, and the Spiders, 7-0.
The Quakers have been practicing hard the past couple of weeks to try and turn their season around.
“I think the team has been playing really well,” Harwood said. “Everyone has been working hard.”
If the Quakers win tomorrow, they will take on the winner of No. 1 Virginia Tech and No. 16 Boston College in the quarterfinal round. Ivy League foes such as Harvard, Brown, Princeton and Cornell will also stand in the Red and Blue’s way this weekend.
The tournament will last four days and should Penn advance that far, the finals will be held on Monday.
The Quakers will be led by Harwood, senior Andrew Kolker and junior college transfer Alex Fritz. Young players such as Lecher, Anthony Pu, Craig Rubin and Justin Lavner might also see action this weekend.
“We have the talent, we have the potential,” Harwood said. “We just have to bring the A-game.”
If the Quakers do bring their A-game and win the tournament, they would receive an automatic bid to the ITA Indoor Championships in Louisville, Ky., in February.
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