This past weekend was the first set of back-to-back games in the No. 49 Penn women's tennis team's Ivy League schedule.
Junior Shelah Chao apparently brought her broom along with her, sweeping her singles and doubles matches in straight sets.
The Quakers reflected her momentum in their Friday matchup against Brown; however, they conceded their first Ivy loss to Yale the next day.
"I think we all stepped up in that match," Penn coach Michael Dowd said of the victory over Brown. "Brown didn't have much fight; typically our matches with Brown have been tougher."
The Bears showed almost no signs of life, not managing to win a single set. The loss dropped them to 8-7 and 1-1 in the Ivy League.
"I think everyone played really well versus Brown," Penn sophomore Sara Schiffman said. "We were really pumped up and ready to play."
If consistency is a mark of winning ways, the doubles play of the Quakers really kept them in close games. Although the team had dropped the doubles point last week against Princeton, this was not a reflection of its overall domination in the category.
This carried on to the Red and Blue's matchup against the Elis (7-8, 2-0) in New Haven, Conn., on Saturday. Nevertheless, their singles play let them down in relatively windy conditions.
"Shelah Chao played very well," Dowd said. "She won both her singles and doubles matches."
Yale was not having a particularly spectacular season, but it improved to 2-0 in Ivy League play. The singles play crippled the Quakers' hopes in the match.
"I think we've beaten better Yale teams than this, things just went their way today," Dowd said. "I've never lost to Yale in my eight years, although they've been one of the better teams in the Ivies.
"They've been having a rough year. They were just hitting it at all cylinders. They just played better in the windy conditions."
The players did not seem to be discouraged by the loss, though. Their season has been successful in many ways, and they have three games left in league play, with the team hoping to nab an Ivy title after last year's close concession to Harvard.
"We fought hard, but in the end we came up short," Schiffman said of the Yale match. "We're going to look forward to the next three matches at home."
The Quakers will be at home, outside on the Lott Courts, facing off with No. 70 Dartmouth on Friday, and No. 31 Harvard on Saturday.
