One burden that this year's Penn men's tennis team will not have to shoulder is the pressure to live up to the success of past seasons.
In 50 years of Ivy League championship play, the Quakers have never won sole possession of the title.
The last time the Red and Blue claimed even a share of the championship -- in 1970 -- coach Mark Riley was still in elementary school.
But Riley believes that his team has the potential to break the streak.
"I think we have the ability to make the NCAA Tournament and win the league," Riley said. "We feel like we belong."
And Riley's confidence seems well-warranted.
With the addition of two top-flight newcomers, the Quakers' ladder has been shaken up a bit.
In addition to freshman Jon Boym, Penn has added sophomore Jason Pinsky, who spent his freshman year at Vanderbilt. Both will likely hold spots in the top six.
"We brought in a couple new guys with a lot of experience," said Pinsky, who competed at the No. 1 flight this fall. "I feel if we don't win Ivies, the season's a failure."
Whatever strategy it takes to try to lock up the Ivy title, it is clear that Penn has ruled out using the element of surprise.
While history has not been kind to the Quakers, they put in a successful fall season and may have a hard time sneaking up on anyone.
The Red and Blue earned a bid to the National Indoor Championships in Seattle by dropping Brown and Columbia -- who finished first and second in the Ivy League last year -- en route to an ECAC Championship victory.
While Riley was ecstatic about the team's win in October, the Quakers' success did not come as a surprise to him; he believes that Penn was close to this level of performance last year. But this season they must get over the hump.
"I really expect more from everybody," Riley said. "I'd like to turn those 4-3 [losses] around from last year."
Looking at Penn's fall ladder, this does not seem out of reach. The addition of Boym and Pinsky has compensated for the loss of six seniors, allowing several returning players to remain in the same flights as last year.
"I think we're deeper than we've ever been," Riley said. "We have more talent up and down the lineup than" ever.
"Each point counts the same whether it's one or six," he added.
This philosophy will serve Riley's men well this year, as the stiff competition they face throughout the season will undoubtedly be six-strong.
In addition to the National Indoors, Pinsky and sophomore Brandon O'Gara emphasized the significance of their match against Florida State, who was ranked No. 11 in the nation before the season.
Riley knows that these matches are important, but are not the final determinant of the Quakers' season.
"All we can do is continue to improve and grow as a team," he said. "We're going to get a chance to play against the best; hopefully it bodes well" for us.
But some members of the Red and Blue think they have already survived a crucial test by taking the ECAC field by surprise, proving themselves to some degree.
"We just killed Brown," said junior Mikhail Bekker, who was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2004. Now "a lot of teams know that ... we're real good this year."
The Quakers hope that when all is said and done this season, even more will know it.
And they hope that a generation-long drought will finally come to an end.
