Injuries can be disastrous, especially in an individual sport such as tennis. However, true athletes have the ability to overcome such personal struggles and pull off amazing feats in the spirit of teamwork.
Even with a persistent abdominal injury, senior tri-captain Shelah Chao didn't let anything stand in her way last Saturday during the Quakers' first home match of the spring, a 5-2 victory over Virginia Commonwealth.
The Red and Blue matched up with a Rams team that has a roster of just seven players. But all seven hail from different countries, not one of which is the United States.
Leaving it all out on the court, Chao fought through tough matches on both the singles and doubles courts.
"My stomach has really been bothering me lately. But it felt good today, so I was really excited," said Chao.
Chao joined forces with Julia Koulbitskaya to form a brand new doubles pair in the No. 1 position. In their first time playing together, the duo beat VCU's previously undefeated team of Cristina Arribas and Olga Borisova, 8-6.
This victory was especially significant for Penn (3-1) since the Rams' pair had gone undefeated for the entire 2004 season, granting them a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Raluca Ciochina and Michelle Mitchell had another notable 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles over the team of Marianna Yuferova and Camille Ripert, which secured the Quakers the doubles point.
In singles action, Chao came out on top once again in an exciting match against Arribas. After taking the first set 7-5, Chao won the first game of the second set with a powerful overhead smash, and was well on her way to victory.
She was able to skillfully execute her serves, which she claimed really helped her win both of her matches.
"My serve was able to really bail me out today," she said.
Koulbitskaya won an impressive match against fellow Russian player, Yuferova, who came into the match ranked No. 46 in the country. After winning a decisive third game in the second set, Koulbitskaya continued to wear down her opponent and never looked back.
Junior Sara Schiffman prevailed at the No. 6 position over Camille Ripert of Lourmarin, France.
For the second week in a row freshman Michelle Mitchell finished off the day winning a tie-breaker -- this time against the six-foot Bulgarian, Viktoria Konstantinova, in the No. 4 position.
"I was feeling dejected in the first set," Mitchell said. "I just felt like I had no rhythm. But then in the second set, I just started hitting higher balls and tried to take [Konstantinova] off her game. She started to get frustrated and I got more confidence."
Penn coach Michael Dowd was very impressed with the way his team played against an experienced and diverse Virgina Commonwealth team.
"We played tough. We looked a little bit more seasoned out there. I am very proud," Dowd said after the match.
The Red and Blue takes on Maryland Saturday at the Levy Pavilion at 10 a.m.
