M. Tennis wins in comeback

The Penn men's tennis team won its matches when it counted, taking the last three points, and coming away with a 4-3 comeback victory over Richmond on Saturday. The Quakers (3-0) fell behind early after dropping the doubles point to the Spiders (1-3). Senior co-captain Ryan Harwood and sophomore Anthony Pu yielded the only doubles victory for the Quakers by defeating Richmond's pair of Niki Doll and Matthew Cabana. "Unfortunately, we are familiar with having to come from behind after losing the doubles point," Harwood said. "But it is always encouraging to do so." The Quakers needed to win four of the six singles matches in order to overcome the early deficit. Harwood, senior co-captain Andy Kolker, sophomore Craig Rubin and sophomore Todd Lecher all won their singles matches to secure the win. Harwood won in the first singles match of the day against Doll 6-1, 3-0. The German retired early in the second set, citing injury. The resulting point tied the overall score at 1-1. Richmond took the next two team points as David Donn defeated sophomore David Lynn 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 and Cabana bettered junior Alex Fritz 6-4, 6-1. In a 3-1 hole, the Quakers were on the verge of losing for the first time this season. However, Penn won the next three singles points to escape with a 4-3 victory. "We wouldn't accept losing and this is the attitude we need to take with us into the rest of the season," Kolker said. Kolker notched a win over the Spiders' Derek Schwandt in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth singles match, bringing the Quakers to within one at 3-2. Rubin tied the match at 3-3 with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Richmond senior Dan Scrafford in No. 5 singles' play. "My strength as a player is my ability to outthink my opponent on the court," Rubin said. "I'm not a flashy player and I try to be solid." Lecher had an impressive comeback of his own, garnering the decisive point after a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over the Spiders' Jeppy Moss. "I tried to just remain relaxed throughout the entire match, one point to the next, no matter what happened," Lecher said. "I told myself that I needed to work as hard as I could on every point and see where it would take me, win or lose, that's all I can ask of myself." This was the first truly competitive match of the season for the Quakers, and they hope that this experience will benefit them down the road. "I think the team competed very well rather than played particularly well," Harwood said. "It's great to get a 4-3 come from behind victory under your belt in the beginning of the spring season."

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