The fall season is still young for the Penn men's tennis team. However, it is never too early for Penn coach Mark Riley to assess what his team has accomplished and what goals it has yet to meet.
This weekend, the team played in the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship tournament in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Far from a season-defining trial, the tournament was viewed by the coaching staff more as a gauge of the team's progress at this early juncture of the season.
Playing on the very same courts that, just a month ago, hosted the U.S. Open, the Quakers ended up with two victories and one defeat. Seeded eighth coming into the tournament, they left New York with fifth place overall.
In the first round, the Quakers were matched up against a solid Dartmouth team. The Penn players came away with a 4-3 win against their Ancient Eight rivals.
The Red and Blue then moved on to the quarterfinals against top-seeded Harvard. The aftermath saw the Quakers licking their wounds in the wake of a 6-1 loss to the vaunted Crimson.
"We were a little disappointed," Riley said. "If we want to be at the top of our league, we're going to have to compete against these teams. To be the best, you have to beat the best."
Harvard went on to win the entire tournament.
Despite the setback, the Penn team remained focused on the consolation match against Yale. The Quakers ended the weekend on a positive note with a 5-2 victory.
Although nothing is set in stone after this weekend's tournament, the Quakers returned to campus yesterday having learned some valuable lessons about themselves and their competition.
"I'm sure the intensity in practice will pick up," Riley said. "We're looking forward to the spring season, to making some noise in our league."
Although Riley would have liked a higher level of consistency, he was happy to get contributions from different players in each match.
Riley was very pleased with sophomore Mikhail Bekker's performance against the Crimson, which resulted in Penn's only win of the match. In addition, he felt that seniors Todd Lecher and Craig Rubin turned in strong efforts against Yale, winning their singles and doubles matches.
"Every day, someone different did something for the team," Riley said. "As a coach, I don't have to depend on the same guys winning every day."
Riley was less than pleased for the most part with the play of his doubles teams.
"As a staff, we're going to just work on our doubles play," Riley said. He suggested that the coaching staff would be tinkering with the lineup, experimenting with different combinations in that area.
Where this team is headed, it is too early to tell. The coaches and players will use this weekend, and the valuable experience it provided, as motivation for the remainder of the fall season. Come spring season -- and with it, the Ivy League schedule -- anything could happen for the Quakers. Including a win over Harvard.
Penn 4, Dartmouth 3
Singles
1st: Webb (D) def. Tobias (P) 6-3, 6-4. 2nd: Lynn (P) def. McGaughney (D) 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. 3rd: Schechtman (D) def. Bekker (P) 6-4, 7-6. 4th: Lecher (P) def. Sahv (D) 6-4, 6-2. 5th: Rubin (P) def. Reyes (D) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. 6th: O'Gara (P) def. Brodie (D) 7-6, 6-1.
Doubles
1st: Tobias/O'Gara (P) def. Webb/Reyes (D) 8-3. 2nd: Brodie/Schechtman (D) def. Pu/Fairbanks (P) 8-2. 3rd: Waslen/McGaughney (D) def. Lynn/Bekker (P) 8-5.
Harvard 6, Penn 1
Singles
1st: Chu (H) def. Tobias (P) 6-1, 6-4. 2nd: Wetzel (H) def. Lynn (P) 6-1, 6-7(6), 10-4. 3rd: Bekker( P) def. Kumar (H) 6-3, 6-3. 4th: Dhaka (H) def. Lecher (P) 6-2, 6-4. 5th: Beren (H) def. Rubin (P) 6-4, 6-3. 6th: Valkin (H) def. O'Gara (P) 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles
1st: Chu/Chiu (H) def. Tobias/O'Gara 8-2. 2nd: Kumar/Wetzel (H) def. Pu/Fairbanks (P) 8-3. Beren/Dhaka (H) def. Lynn/Bekker (P) 8-4.
Penn 5, Yale 2
Singles
1st: Wai (Y) def. Tobias (P) 6-4, 6-0. 2nd: Gudzowski (Y) def. Lynn (P) 6-4, 6-3. 3rd: Bekker (P) def. Lu (Y) 6-1, 6-3. 4th: Lecher (P) def. Feldman (Y) 6-3, 6-0. 5th: Rubin (P) def. Vellanikaran (Y) 6-7(3), 7-5, 10-5. 6th: Fairbanks (P) def. Vidal (Y) 6-3, 6-2.
Doubles
1st: Tobias/O'Gara (P) def. Gudzowski/Lawler (Y) 8-5. 2nd: Lynn/Bekker (P) def. Lu/Feldman (Y) 8-6. 3rd: Lecher/Rubin (P) def. Vellanikaran/Wai (Y) 8-3.
