The Penn men's tennis team continued its dominance of its pre-Ivy schedule, dominating Rutgers, 6-1.
The Quakers ran their record to 7-0 by beating the Scarlet Knights (3-4).
Despite Rutgers' record, the Quakers did not take them lightly.
"I think as a team we came out here and played extremely hard and did not take the situation for granted," Justin Lavner said.
There was never any real doubt concerning the outcome of the match. The Red and Blue won two out of three to earn the doubles point and then proceeded to take the first five singles matches.
The Quakers took the lead early by winning the doubles point. It was the first time they had won the doubles point since their win over Swarthmore on February 5.
Anthony Pu and Lavner recorded an easy 8-2 win in the No. 2 slot. Brandon O'Gara and Todd Lecher secured the point with a 9-8 win in the No. 3 slot. But Tas Tobias and Joseph Lok suffered a tough 8-6 loss at in the top doubles spot.
O'Gara and Lecher's win decided the doubles point in dramatic fashion. Down 6-4, they fought back to tie the score at six and seesawed to an 8-8 score. The tiebreaker required 19 nervewracking serves before they prevailed with the match and the doubles point.
The struggling doubles teams have been a big issue for coach Mark Riley. While he appreciates the grit of his players in challenging situations, he noted, he would rather that they not be there in the first place.
"I'd like to work so that we are not playing tiebreakers."
Senior captain David Lynn also believed that the pairs needed work.
"Doubles need to get better. We're making progress and I'm sure we'll be there soon."
Typical of the season thus far, the Red and Blue cruised through their singles matches, winning five of six.
Mikhail Bekker, David Lynn, Justin Lavner, Craig Rubin and Jimmy Fairbanks all recorded victories as the singles players blew the match open.
Tas Tobias at No. 4 endured the only singles loss of the day. He was thwacked 6-1 in the first set but battled back to win 7-6(3) in the second set. Tobias' momentum was not enough as he lost 10-6 in the tiebreaker.
Riley expressed overall pride in his team.
"I like my team," Riley said. "We're playing hard, playing hard every time out."
Lynn reflected this sentiment calling the victory "a good win," noting that "everyone played hard."
Coach and players alike were pleased with the intensity of the Quaker's play and their ability to apply what is done in practice to the matches.
"I'm in my fifth year, [it is] the first time that we have played hard in every match," Riley said. "I see some of the things we are working on in practice coming through in play."
But Rubin summed it up best.
"It is nice to kick someone else's butt other than your teammate's."
While Rutgers has lost to Cornell and Yale, the Quakers players were careful not to draw transitive conclusions.
However, Mikhail Bekker did relate, "If we continue playing this way, we will perform really well in the Ivy League season."
Lavner concluded, "we are trying to set a tradition of fighting hard, winning and playing hard as a team."
