After losing nine straight games to start out his match, Penn junior co-captain David Lynn bounced back and won the second set against Dartmouth's No 1. David Webb.
Unfortunately, Lynn could not take the third set and secure a Penn victory on Friday, as the Big Green won, 4-3, on its home court.
"We needed to win that match," Penn men's tennis coach Mark Riley said. "Our captain's got to win."
While Riley was not pleased with this close loss or with Dartmouth's sweep in doubles play, he did note the outstanding play of freshman Mikhail Bekker, who "continues to amaze" his coach.
Playing in the No. 2 singles position, Bekker soundly defeated Dartmouth senior Neal Bobba, a former No. 1 singles player, 6-4, 6-1.
Just as important as the higher-seeded matches was the No. 6 singles match, which carries just as much weight as the others.
Riley feels that it is very possible, and necessary, for the Quakers to win every one of these matches and capture easy points.
But the next day against Harvard, Riley was just hoping for any kind of points against the 20th-ranked Crimson.
Coming into the match, the Quakers expected to face a tough Harvard team, which has dominated the Ivy League in past years.
"We've played them close before," Riley said. "But this is the best team they've had since I've been here."
The Crimson lived up to the hype on Saturday, leaving Penn victory-less save one doubles match in a 7-0 rout.
"This is the first match all year that we have been beaten soundly," Riley said. "But we played hard."
Despite their efforts, the Quakers could only extend one of the six singles matches into three sets.
The Red and Blue hope to put up a better fight next weekend when they close out the season against Ivy rivals Columbia and Cornell.
When asked about his team's chances, Riley emphasized the overall parity in the Ivy League, excluding the powerhouse Crimson.
He and the Quakers are looking to improve their 1-4 league record and close out the season strong.
