Sluggish W. Tennis falls to No. 34 Terps

To the casual tennis fan, the doubles game probably doesn't seem too different from the singles game.

But the Penn women's tennis team knows that this isn't the case.

The Quakers fell 5-2 to Maryland Saturday in College Park, Md., dropping the doubles point for the third time in four matches.

Sophomore Yulia Rivelis and senior Raluca Ciochina picked up the lone points for Penn (4-2) from the No. 1 and No. 6 spots, highlighting a solid singles performance in which sophomores Julia Koulbitskaya and Michelle Mitchell each narrowly dropped three-set matches.

But continuing a trend begun in recent matches, the Quakers were put in a hole early by a disappointing doubles performance, which were the competition's opening matches.

After winning the point against Temple and Penn State to start the season, Penn's doubles has been suspect.

"We need to make sure that when we get out there we're pumped up right from the beginning," assistant coach Amanda Johnson said. "We have to learn how to capitalize on opportunities a little better."

This slow start prevented the Quakers from scoring a marquee upset that was well within reach. Even though Maryland (5-2) is ranked No. 34 in the nation, 25 spots above Penn, Johnson believes that the Terps are "absolutely beatable."

"Overall I think it was very close," Ciochina said. "It could've gone the other way. ... Unfortunately it wasn't one of our best days."

The reason for this wasn't difficult to pinpoint.

A rigorous game schedule that has included six matches in 18 days seemed to have caught up with Penn last weekend. The Quakers came out somewhat lethargically against the Terps, both physically and mentally.

"We could've had a little more energy out there," Rivelis said. "A little bit more communication in doubles would've been great."

Rivelis added that Penn was "maybe a little flatfooted out there."

Coaches will rarely accept this as an excuse for a poor performance, but Johnson and head coach Mike Dowd didn't chew out the players for their apparent lack of enthusiasm.

Instead, Dowd called a team meeting that he hoped would reenergize his squad and help get his players' spirits up after a deflating loss.

It worked.

"The team talk just helped us kind of really connect as a team a little bit more," Rivelis said. "It gave us a good outlook. In terms of prioritizing this week, it's going to be key."

For the Quakers, this means working a little harder and proving that they are better than their recent showing.

This hard work will be necessary for Penn to fare well on its trip to the west coast over spring break, when it will play four matches, including three against top-50 teams.

"It's a great opportunity to play four top matches," Johnson said.

The Quakers hope to put last weekend behind them and take advantage of the opportunity next time around.

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