This weekend, the Penn women's tennis team takes on Dartmouth and Harvard as it continues its quest for a third consecutive Ivy League title in a somewhat unfamiliar position.
That of the underdog.
Despite taking on the Big Green first, Sunday's game at No. 18 Harvard has been circled in crimson on the calendar all year long.
With a win over Dartmouth and a Harvard win over Princeton Saturday, Sunday would feature a battle of the Ivy's two undefeated teams.
One match to determine the Ancient Eight champion.
"We've been waiting for this match all year," junior Nicole Ptak said. "This is a situation we've been dreaming about. There is nothing better than playing a great team for the Ivy League title."
Dartmouth still stands in the way of the heavyweight matchup. However, the Big Green (8-11, 1-3 Ivy) are not expected to pose a great threat to the Quakers. The Big Green have already lost to Columbia and Brown, two teams that the Quakers defeated convincingly. Still, the Quakers will not look past Dartmouth.
"Everyone has to stay focused," junior Sanela Kunovac said. "All week, people have been saying Harvard, Harvard, Harvard. We know that we can not take this team lightly."
However, the bigger test of both the weekend and the season remains the Crimson.
No. 18 Harvard (15-3, 5-0 Ivy) has dominated its opponents in a similar fashion to Penn. In its five Ivy League contests, the Crimson have surrendered a mere two matches to their opponents, demonstrating that if anyone can disrupt the Red and Blue's 21-game Ivy League winning streak, it's Harvard.
Harvard is not the only team that will enter the match with momentum. The Quakers are riding high after an impressive Spring Fling weekend, which featured consecutive 5-2 victories over league rivals Brown and Yale.
When Penn arrives at Harvard, the Quakers will encounter four players nationally ranked in the top 110, including three sophomores hungry to prove that they deserve their rankings, eager to win their first Ivy League crown against the veteran Quakers.
The Crimson is led at No. 1 singles by No. 43 Courtney Bergman. Bergman will face up against Penn's ace, No. 20 Alice Pirsu, in a match on court No. 1 that should be the best match of the entire Ivy League season.
Following Bergman, for Harvard at No. 2 singles is another sophomore, No. 101 Susanna Lingman, the 2002 Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Lingman will take on Ptak, Penn's No. 2.
Harvard also features ranked players at its next two spots, with No. 110 Alexis Martire at No. 3 singles and No. 72 Eva Wang at No. 4. Those top four are the reason why the Quakers are -- despite being the two-time defending league champions -- underdogs.
With one match potentially determining the fate of the season, the Quakers remain unfazed.
They've been here before.
"This team knows how to win," Kunovac said.
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