After Penn senior Nicole Ptak defeated Virginia's Mariko Fritz-Krockow in the quarterfinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Regional Championships, Penn sophomore Caroline Stanislawski boldly predicted the event's yet-to-be-determined outcome.
"Nikki is going to win this tournament."
Having survived the grueling weekend of opening rounds at the Virginia Tech hosted tournament, Ptak has advanced to today's semifinals of the prestigious event.
Ptak has "improved very dramatically every year," Penn women's tennis coach Michael Dowd said. But this result in particular was an "extraordinary feat," Dowd added.
With the finalists from the singles bracket receiving a trip to the NCAA Championships, the ITA traditionally draws the top players in the East.
The fact that Ptak now sits one victory away from an automatic bid to Nationals in November is largely a result of confidence.
"She doesn't fear anybody," Dowd said.
After defeating the tournament's No. 1 seed, Candace Fuchs of William and Mary, in three sets, Ptak's confidence is high for good reason.
Though Ptak wouldn't offer any predictions on her semifinal match today against Maryland's Emily Marker, she did say that she is "just going to play [her] game and hopefully things come out on top."
Ptak has played Marker twice before, winning their last meeting in the spring.
Despite this pool of elite talent, Ptak was not the only Penn athlete to advance to later rounds of play.
Both Stanislawski and senior Rachel Shweky fell in the third round of play, while junior Shelah Chao fell in second round -- her first match after a bye.
Stanislawski's second-round match against Ashley Lipton, Syracuse's top-ranked player, was nothing less than a battle of wills.
At just over four hours in length, Stanislawski's three-set victory (5-7, 7-6, 6-1) marked the longest match of the weekend.
"It wasn't exactly the prettiest match," Stanislawski said. "But I played a solid third set."
Stanislawski's third-round match, played on the very same day, went nearly as long. She lost the contest, however, in three sets to Yale's Reshmi Srinath (7-5, 4-6, 7-6).
"She played a great match," Stanislawski said. "In the end it was down to the final points."
Regardless of the outcome today -- and possibly tomorrow -- for Ptak, the Quakers' outlook for the spring is a positive one.
"I feel like everyone is playing really well," Stanislawski said. "Any one of us could have won this tournament."
