Nearly a month after Roger Federer defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the finals of the U.S. Open at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., the women's tennis team competed at the venue for the 2004 Women's College Tennis Invitational.
The best teams in the country competed for the title, with Penn sending nine competitors. All nine advanced past the first round in what is widely regarded as one of the toughest tournaments in women's collegiate tennis.
In the "A" flight singles, Penn freshman Yulia Rivelis defeated Nida Waseem of Boston College in the first round, 6-1, 6-2 and Angela Hendry of Columbia in the second round, 6-1, 7-8(4) before falling to Kim Coventry of Kentucky, 6-1, 3-6 (11-9).
Also in the "A" flight was freshman Julia Koulbitskaya, who won her first round match against Texas A&M;'s Anna Lubinsky, 6-3, 6-4 before falling in the second round to Jolle Schwenk of Kentucky, 6-4, 6-0. Koulbitskaya also competed in the second consolation round, falling to Vlatka Jovanovic of Arkansas, 6-3, 6-3.
Koulbitskaya and classmate Michelle Mitchell competed as a team in the "A" flight doubles. The seventh-seeded duo battled their way through to the semifinals, defeating some of the most competitive doubles teams in the country.
In the first round, Mitchell and Koulbitskaya faced the team of Fallon Koon and Miranda Gutierrez of South Carolina, who they knocked off 8-5. In the second round, they played Caitlin Collins and Charlie Tansill of North Carolina, who they dismissed with an 8-0 whitewashing. In the third round, they faced the team of Emily Foster and Lara Maurer of Kentucky, who they solidly defeated 8-4. Eventually, the Penn freshmen lost to Melissa Anderson and Celia Durkin of Harvard, 8-5.
"They've gained a lot of confidence as the season's progressed," Penn coach Michael Dowd said about the semifinalist doubles team.
"They've stepped up and played phenomenal doubles, beating some of the best colleges. They're improving every day and work well with each other, which gives me a lot of confidence heading into next weekend's tournament."
Next weekend, the team will compete at the ITA East Regionals, which Penn will be hosting.
Last week's tournament also saw Penn junior Raluca Ciochina reach the fourth round of the "B" flight singles, defeating Arkansas' Tawna Allen, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round, Sara Anundsen of North Carolina, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round and Anna Blaodarova of Texas A&M;, 6-2, 6-3. She eventually fell to Harvard's Melissa Anderson, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-7).
"Overall, I think everyone had a good tournament," Dowd said. "No one in singles really made any breakthroughs, and I was hoping they would play a little better."
Dowd is confident that the team will regroup in time for this weekend's tournament.
"We're very excited to host next week's event, where we'll once again be playing the best players in the East," he said. "This will be a great opportunity for us."
