With the Ivy season just around the corner, the Penn men's tennis team sets its eyes on the Navy Midshipmen this afternoon as a tune-up before the all important league-opener Friday.
The match with Navy (7-10) precedes a weekend in which the Quakers (7-4) will visit Columbia on Friday and host Cornell on Sunday.
Penn looks to get back into action against Navy after falling to their military brethren, Army, on March 13.
"The match this Wednesday is going to determine the momentum for our weekend," Penn sophomore Anthony Pu said. "It's been two weeks since our last match against Army. We had a couple of days off and now everyone has been training hard and getting ready for the real [Ivy] season -- the matches that count."
Navy comes into the match after edging West Virginia, 4-3, on Monday. The win ended a six-match losing streak that included two losses to Ivy League opponents, a 1-6 loss to Yale and a 0-7 loss to Brown.
Penn's performance today should give the Quakers a relative idea about how they stack up against some of their other conference foes.
The Quakers are not taking this match for granted, although the beginning of the league slate is seemingly on everyone's mind.
"We've done well up to this point, but everyone knows that the start of the Ivies marks the start of a new season," sophomore Todd Lecher said. "Navy is a good team and deserves respect. Our match, like all of our other matches, will be hard-fought."
"This is our last chance to prove to ourselves that we are well prepared for the Ivy League," junior Alex Fritz said. "Further, it is a good chance to gain some self-confidence for Friday."
Penn's senior leadership sees doubles play as a critical aspect in today's match.
"Navy is going to be a great tune-up for the beginning of the Ivy season," senior co-captain Ryan Harwood said. "Navy is a solid team that always competes very hard. They are always solid in doubles which will be a great test for our doubles teams that we might use during the Ivy season."
"We have been working on a lot of doubles in practice, so we will definitely look to take the doubles point against Navy," fellow co-captain and senior Andy Kolker said. "Playing well in doubles is crucial for our team, and it translates into momentum for our singles."
Today's match also marks the first time the Quakers will play a home match outside at the H. Hunter Lott Jr. Tennis Courts. Penn's previous eight home matches were played within the friendly indoor confines of the Robert P. Levy Tennis Pavilion.
"It will be interesting to see how our team responds to [our first home match outside]," sophomore David Lynn said. "I think we will all play well and I'm excited for this part of the tennis season."
