The early season success for the Penn men's tennis team has acted as a double-edged sword, as better results have engendered higher expectations.
In previous years, close losses to top teams like No. 31 Miami and Central Florida might have been considered moral victories for the Quakers.
This year, however, anything less than a win is not satisfactory.
"It was a downer losing to UCF," Penn coach Mark Riley said. "For us to be disappointed with this loss says a lot about our progress."
The match against Central Florida was indeed a heartbreaker, as junior Anthony Pu lost a tight three-set match, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. That match was the difference in a 4-3 UCF victory.
Penn was without its No. 1 player, junior co-captain David Lynn, who was out with an ankle injury, but Riley did not see that as an excuse for the loss.
"We beat Princeton in the fall without Lynn because everyone else stepped up," he said. "We still should have won at UCF without him."
Riley cited poor play in doubles throughout the trip -- Penn won only two of nine doubles matches -- as his main area of concern.
"We seek progress in doubles," Riley said. "We put ourselves in a hole the entire trip."
The singles play was much better for the Red and Blue, propelling them to a 4-3 win over Jacksonville and accounting for all the points against Miami and Central Florida.
Riley praised freshman Mikhail Bekker in particular for his efforts in the Sunshine State.
"He went in as a freshman and won a match at Miami," Riley said. "Bekker played great tennis against Miami."
Before defeating the Hurricanes' John Hoyes, 6-4, 6-2, Bekker teamed with Lynn for a 9-8 victory in doubles over Jeremiah Fuller and Josh Cohen. The freshman also paced Penn in its victory over Jacksonville, chalking up wins in both singles and doubles.
"We're 6-3, which is not bad, and we've had some close losses," Riley said. "We're getting better but I'd like to see them at 8-1."
Now that Penn has seen that it can compete with some of the top teams in the country both its confidence and expectations have risen for the Ivy League campaign.
"Those teams [Miami and UCF] are similar to the caliber-type teams in our league," Riley said. "We now need to play with a certain type of tenacity."
If the Quakers are able to meet their increasing expectations, moral victories will become tangible wins against Ivy League rivals.
