No. 22 Florida State was one of three squads the Penn men's tennis team faced this weekend when they traveled to Tallahassee, Fla., to take part in a quad tournament hosted by the Seminoles.
The Quakers could not keep up with the competition, however, and returned home with an unsatisfying 1-2 on the meet.
"This weekend was more of a disappointment than a success," sophomore Brandon O'Gara said. "The goal was to win all three. Hopefully it will make us better for the Ivy League season."
On Friday, the Quakers (2-2) faced off against the home team, Florida State, but could not hang with the top-25 club, losing their first of the season, 5-2.
Sophomore Joseph Lok, playing in the No. 4 spot was the sole Penn player to win his singles match, defeating Maciek Sykut 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Penn picked up its other point in doubles play from a 9-8 win by sophomore Jason Pinsky and Lok and an 8-4 victory by freshman Justin Fox and O'Gara.
"I think our guys fought hard," Penn coach Mark Riley said. "We know we have to be a little more flexible next time. We didn't make enough adjustments."
The Quakers continued play Saturday, earning a split. The team slipped past Nebraska 4-3 after losing to Furman earlier in the day.
Junior Mikhail Bekker and freshman Jonathan Boym led the fight against Furman by winning both their singles and doubles matchups.
Bekker, playing in No. 2 slot, soundly defeated Andy Juc 6-3, 6-2, while No. 3 Boym played a hotly contested match against Greg Maarschalk, but prevailed in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6.
The pair also combined to win their doubles match, but Penn did not earn the best-of-three point, as their other two pairings lost.
The Quakers turned things around Saturday afternoon, defeating Nebraska to avoid coming home empty handed.
"Beating Nebraska at the end was a good way to finish the weekend," O'Gara said. "They had beaten Florida State and were undefeated at that point."
O' Gara combined with Fox for an 8-2 rout of Karl Jones and Joerg Bartnel in doubles.
Boym and Bekker secured the point for the Quakers with their second doubles victory of the day, an 8-5 win over James Clow and Adrian Szatmary.
Fox was the lone Quakers player to play a part in two points against the Cornhuskers, also winning his singles match 6-4, 7-5.
Pinsky and Lok were edged 9-8 in their match, but both earned points in singles wins.
Pinsky, Penn's No. 1 player, trounced Szatmary 6-3, 6-0 while Lok won 6-2, 6-3.
"I think [Nebraska] might have been the best team there," Riley said. "The guys did a good job; they didn't quit.
"I think in the long run this weekend is going to help us," he added.
The Quakers must keep up their level of play when they return home next weekend for matches against Manhattan and St. Bonaventure.
"We just have got to make sure we take every team seriously," O' Gara said.
The two home matches are the Quakers' last before heading to Seattle, Wash., to compete in the National Indoors on Feb. 17.
