The men's tennis team played five matches in eight days over spring break. The Quakers traveled to Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles and Irvine, California, compiling a 3-2 record on the trip.
The Red and Blue began its trip in Boise, defeating New Mexico, 5-2, on March 4. The next day the Quakers faced a grueling doubleheader in Boise. Penn began the day with a 6-1 loss to Boise State and eked out a tough 4-3 win against Utah in the afternoon.
On Wednesday, the Quakers traveled to California. They beat Loyola Marymount 4-3, but the following day, the Quakers suffered defeat, 5-2, at the hands of UC Irvine.
The doubles teams started to come together during the trip. The Quakers (10-3) earned three out of five doubles points, a dramatic improvement over their early-season performances. While they were 7-1 heading into the trip, they only won the doubles point in four of the matches.
Perhaps the highlight of the week for the doubles teams came at Utah. The doubles point hinged on the play of Todd Lecher and Brandon O'Gara. They gutted out a tough match to win the set on the last point. The doubles point ended up helping to decide the match as the Quakers won by just one.
Lecher was the only singles player to have a perfect trip, finishing 5-0 over the break, and he feels that the team's performance over the break will help it in the long run.
"Beating good teams like this give us confidence," he said. "It shows us that we can beat good teams. It comes down to who is more focused."
