M. Tennis beats Temple after poor Ivy openers
The Penn men's tennis team rebounded from a weekend sweep by Ivy foes Columbia and Cornell to defeat Temple, 6-1, yesterday at the Robert P. Levy Tennis Pavilion.
Many players who have not seen much playing time during the season were given the opportunity to play.
"Overall, the guys played well," Penn coach Mark Riley said. "I'm just happy to get some guys in the lineup that haven't played and they deserve it."
The Quakers swept the Owls in doubles play by winning all three matches. Penn sophomores Justin Lavner and Sean Montgomery teamed up for an impressive 8-2 win over Temple freshman Elad Ziv and junior James Logan.
Penn won five of the six singles matches, including two that went to a third set. Lavner outdid the Owls' sophomore Yhonny Murray, 6-0, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Co-captain Andy Kolker was the last player off the court after he defeated Temple sophomore Tyler Wynn, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
The Quakers are hoping to take the momentum of this final non-league match into the remainder of the Ivy League season. Penn will face off at Princeton on Friday as the Quakers are still in search of their first Ivy League win.
-- Ryan Howard
W. Tennis wins first two matches of Ivy season
After two decisive weekend victories over Cornell and Columbia this weekend, the Penn women's tennis team is well on its way to defending its three-time Ivy League championship.
Penn has been undefeated in the league the past two years, with competitive matches against Harvard in each of the seasons. The Crimson are led by sophomore Courtney Bergman this year.
The Quakers lost only one match over the weekend -- Michelle Yeh fell at No. 6 singles Friday at Cornell. Aside from the single loss, the Quakers had no trouble compensating as a team, besting the Big Red in straight sets in five of the six matches.
It would only get better Sunday at home against Columbia -- the Quakers blitzed the Lions, 7-0, to advance to 2-0 in the league.
Penn junior star Alice Pirsu dispatched Columbia No. 1 Shelly Mittal, 6-1, 6-2, and also joined senior Raluca Ciulei to win at the No. 1 doubles position.
Pirsu, a former WTA-member, is currently ranked No. 17 in collegiate tennis.
Both junior Nicole Ptak and sophomore Shelah Chao needed three sets to finish off their opponents, but at the end of the day, it was a clean sweep for the Quakers.
Pirsu, Ptak, Chao, Ciulei and Raluca Ciochina each picked up two wins in singles play over the weekend. Freshman Caroline Stanislawski replaced Yeh in the Columbia match on Sunday to grab a straight sets victory, 6-0. 7-5.
The Quakers next face Princeton on Friday on the Lott Tennis Courts.
-- Zachary Silver
