Losing four seniors -- including two captains who combined for a 29-14 singles record last season -- would hurt the top of the lineup for most teams.
But despite these losses, the Penn women's tennis team still has its top three players from last spring -- each of them now only sophomores.
Yulia Rivelis and Julia Koulbitskaya played No. 1 and 2 singles as freshmen. Both earned All-Ivy honors, first-team and second-team respectively.
The two compiled nearly identical singles records in the top two spots, each finishing with 17 wins.
Koulbitskaya garnered All-Ivy status in doubles as well, going 13-12 over the year with her partner, graduated senior Shelah Chao.
Michelle Mitchell, another sophomore, finished last spring as the Quakers' No. 3 player. She went 11-9 in her first collegiate campaign.
Penn coach Mike Dowd, who is in his 10th season, is confident that his team can be successfully led by these underclassmen.
"As freshmen, they played high in the lineup, so this year as sophomores they know what to expect," he said. "I'm expecting big things from them."
Still, the three sophomores will not have to win all the matches by themselves. They are joined by a strong corps of seniors, including co-captains Sara Schiffman and Caroline Stanislawski.
Stanislawski led all returning players with 10 wins during last spring's season.
Raluca Ciochina is another senior who can provide experience for the young Quakers squad.
"This year's team on paper is a little stronger than last year's," Dowd said.
Penn has a great deal of depth this season with a roster 16 players deep.
"We've got some new freshmen who are really good," Schiffman said. "They're definitely going to add a lot to our lineup."
Dowd expects freshmen Alexis Plukas and Lauren Sadaka to be competing for lineup spots before too long.
Penn finished 11-6 overall last year with a 5-2 mark in the Ancient Eight, -- good for second in the league behind Harvard.
This year the Quakers will look to improve, but once again it is the Crimson who stand in their way.
"Harvard is the team to beat -- heavy favorites to win the league again," Dowd said. "It's going to be tough to be two in the league, but I think we're good enough also to beat Harvard, so you never know."
Stanislawski said that although it would be an improvement from the previous season, the team would not necessarily be satisfied with a league championship.
"In addition to winning the Ivy League, we're looking to qualify for the NCAA this year," Stanislawski said.
The last time Penn reached the NCAA tournament was 2003.
The Quakers' Ivy League opener is not until April, but their non-conference season gets underway tonight against Temple at the Levy Pavillion.
"They're going to be tough," Dowd said of Temple. "Their one, two and three particularly are very tough players."
Last season, however, Penn defeated the Owls 7-0 at home.
"We'll come out strong. I think if we play smart and play well it should be a great match," Schiffman said.
If the Quakers hope to dethrone the three-time defending champion Crimson, they will have to come out playing strong and remain that way for the entire season.
