Penn and Princeton have a healthy rivalry on the basketball court, with Ivy League pride and bragging rights on the line. That relationship extends to the tennis court as well.
The No. 35 Penn women's tennis team went on the road Saturday to Princeton, N.J., and delivered a firm blow to the Tigers' bragging rights, defeating them, 6-1.
The Quakers (12-3-1, 2-0 Ivy) dominated the Tigers (4-9, 0-1) in an impressive overall performance.
"It was a hard-fought match," Penn sophomore Raluca Ciochina said. "The score 6-1 doesn't reflect what happened on the court. We did have tough doubles wins, and the singles matches were close. It could have gone either way."
Three of the six singles matches went to three sets, with one going to a conditional tiebreaker. The doubles matches were all decided by three games or less; nevertheless, the Red and Blue swept the category.
Penn coach Michael Dowd was particularly impressed with the performance of Penn sophomore Caroline Stanislawski, the only Quaker to lose her match.
"Even though Caroline lost she went out there and she played a great match," Dowd said. "She strained her back during practice. She really showed a lot of heart by going out there to play."
Stanislawski, who played Princeton's Alison Hashmall at No. 2 singles, had to go to a tiebreaker instead of a deciding third set. The overall team match had already been decided, and it was agreed by both parties to conclude in a tiebreaker. Stanislawski fought hard despite her injury, forcing the match to go down to the wire. Eventually she fell, 11-9.
Penn and Princeton have had an interesting rivalry in the past few years.
"Princeton has beaten us over the past eight years more than any other Ivy team," Dowd said. "It definitely was a great feeling to get the win today."
The Red and Blue will complete their road trip this weekend, as they travel to Rhode Island and Connecticut to face off against Brown and Yale. They will try to extend their undefeated Ivy League record.
"We have got off to a great start, now we have back-to-back road matches," Dowd said. "We are now going to have a more difficult time, and we are really going to have to step it up in practice."
PENN 6, Princeton 1 Singles
1 -- Ptak (PENN) def. Robertson, 6-3, 7-5
2 -- Hashmall (PRIN) def. Stanislawski, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (11)
3 -- Chao (PENN) def. Siebel, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
4 -- Ciochina (PENN) def. Berg, 6-1, 6-2
5 -- Schiffman (PENN) def. Trimble, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
6 -- Kunovac (PENN) def. Williams, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
1 -- Shweky/Chao (PENN) def. Bhargava/Kobishyn, 9-7
2 -- Ciochina/Ptak (PENN) def. Robertson/Siebel, 8-5
3 -- Williams/Stanislawski (PENN) def. Berg/Trimble, 8-6
