David Lynn ended his singles match against St. Bonaventure with a speeding ace past Mario Arce.
The Penn men's tennis team finished off its five-game homestand equally strong. The Quakers downed Richmond on Saturday and beat St. Bonaventure on Sunday.
The Red and Blue have gotten off to a hot start this season. And with the two wins this weekend the Red and Blue moved their record to a flawless 5-0.
Despite their strong marks, the Quakers are far from perfect. Penn's doubles teams struggled all weekend, losing five of six matches. The 0-3 showing against the Spiders (4-2) on Saturday caused coach Mark Riley to shuffle his lineup before the next day's match against the Bonnies (5-2).
Riley replaced three of his six doubles players on Sunday. John Stetson was cycled into the lineup in place of Brandon O'Gara. It was the first time Stetson had played in a match for Penn in over a year.
Riley's ability to interchange his starters demonstrates the depth of the Quakers roster.
With their obvious struggles in doubles the Quakers were carried to their two wins on the strength of their singles play. Penn put together a 4-2 advantage over Richmond and needed every win in order to earn the victory. The Quakers singles players also dealt a 5-1 blow to St. Bonaventure.
With the ineffectiveness of Penn's doubles teams, the Quakers were placed in an early hole both days. Riley was impressed with his team, believing that his players stepped up where a lot of others would have folded.
Riley lauded the resiliency of his team adding that the Red and Blue put forth an excellent team effort and "came out and played very strong."
The epitome of this mental toughness was demonstrated Justin Lavner's match against Doug Banker of Richmond.
With the entire match on the line, Lavner won decisively despite going to three sets -- 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 -- to carry the Quakers to victory.
Given the recent success of the Red and Blue at the Levy Tennis Pavilion, Riley has reason to be optimistic about the future of his team. While he is always looking for improvement, especially from his struggling doubles combinations, he believes that the Penn squad as a whole will be tough on anyone's schedule.
"As a group, it will take a lot to beat us," he said. "If we play every match hard, we will be tough toward the end of the season."
The Quakers will next take the court when they travel to Maryland on Feb. 20 to take on the Terrapins.
The Terps are 3-0 so far on the season, with victories over Gerogetown, Goucher College and George Washington.
