Kate Williams was named tri-captain of this year's women's tennis team for a reason.
With her outstanding play this weekend, she led her team to one of the most important victories of the young season.
The squad traveled down to Charlottesville, Va. to face off against a Virginia team that matched up closely with Penn.
After handling Penn State on Feb. 4, coach Michael Dowd asserted that his team was going to have to play a lot better in order to beat Virginia.
"UVA is a nationally ranked team. They have a lot of young players like us," Dowd said after his team's win over Penn State. He recognized the potential for a great match against Virginia, and remained confident in the abilities of his team to finish on top.
Freshman, Julia Koulbitskaya agreed with her coach.
"We are going to have to fight a lot harder to beat Virginia, but I know we can win," she said after the Penn State match.
And that's just what the Quakers did. They rallied in a well-played match, grabbing another road victory, 4-3.
According to Dowd, Williams was responsible for the two most important matches in the team's win. The doubles specialist did what she does best, defeating Virginia's Rachel DelPriore and Lindsey Pereira, 8-5, with the help of teammate Caroline Stanislawski. The match was the only doubles win of the day for the Quakers.
And although Williams' win in doubles was wasted since Virginia won the other two doubles matches, thus earning the point, she led Penn in singles play as well. Playing singles for the first time in three years, Williams pulled out an amazing victory at the No. 6 position.
"Those were some of the deciding matches," Dowd said as he acknowledged his respect for the outstanding work done by the senior.
Also notable was the impressive play from freshman, Michelle Mitchell at the No. 4 singles position. With the pressure of the last match of the day on her shoulders, Mitchell capped the Quakers' victory with a three-set win over Virginia's Lori Stern.
"This match is big for confidence," Dowd said. "It is exciting for a freshman."
The Quakers will have a week to prepare for their first home match against Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m.
PENN 4, Virginia 3
Singles
1. Srebrovic (V) def. Koulbitskaya (P) 5-7, 6-0, 6-1
2. Rivelis (P) def. Wink (V)6-2, 7-5
3. James (V) def. Chao (P) 6-4, 6-2
4.Mitchell (P) def. Stern (V)4-6, 6-2, 6-2
5. Stanislawski (P) def. DelPriore (V)7-5, 6-2
6. Williams (P) def. Bechliwanis (V) 7-5, 7-6
Doubles
1. Srebrovic/Wink (V) def. Koulbitskaya/ Mitchell (P), 8-0
2. James/Stern (V) def. Rivelis/Chao (P) 8-2
3. Stanislawski/Williams (P) def. DelPriore/Pereira (V), 8-5
