W. Tennis leaves Virginia with a split

Maybe the Penn women's tennis team should have all of its matches at 9 a.m.

The Quakers had their earliest start of the year yesterday against Richmond and probably played their best match of the season, coming away with a 6-1 victory for their fourth win in five matches.

It was Penn's second match of the weekend down in Richmond, Va. On Saturday, the team suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Virginia Commonwealth.

Despite yesterday's early start, the team was energetic and got off quickly, something that had been lacking in the past.

"We really have to be into it and be moving our feet at the beginning," said freshman Alexis Plukas, who won her No. 3 singles match 6-1, 6-4 and partnered with sophomore Yulia Rivelis to win her No. 1 doubles set 8-6. "Sometimes we don't do that, but today we had high energy and moved really well."

While that energy and movement showed in the singles matches -- where the Quakers swept the first three in straight sets -- it was the doubles sets that were the difference yesterday.

"In doubles we picked it up from [Saturday] for sure," said sophomore Julia Koulbitskaya, referring to the previous day's loss to Virginia Commonwealth. "We just don't get the momentum as fast as other teams do, and we'll fall behind 2-0, 3-0, but today we picked it up from the start and that's an improvement."

Koulbitskaya, who won her No. 2 doubles set with Michelle Mitchell 8-5 and swept her No. 2 singles sets 6-3, 2-6, noted that the match against Richmond was tougher than the final scores indicated.

"The conditions were pretty rough because it was really hot in there," she said, referring to the indoor courts at Richmond. "It can be pretty difficult for people with asthma. My doubles partner and I were having trouble breathing."

Koulbitskaya was not the only one ailing yesterday. Head coach Mike Dowd didn't travel with the team due to illness, and senior Caroline Stanislawski retired midway through the second set of her No. 4 singles match because of a chronic back injury. The injury isn't serious, however, and Stanislawski should be ready to play next week against Maryland.

The injury "is something Caroline's got to play through," said assistant coach Amanda Johnson, who was filling in for Dowd. "It's something that's bothered her every year, and at that point we'd already won the match, so we figured, 'Why kill her?'"

Dowd also believes that doubles is the area the team must focus on if it hopes to take its play to the next level.

"I feel like all teams are a little shakier on doubles, so it'd be good to build up some confidence," Dowd said.

Plukas agreed.

"I think we're still getting used to our partners," she said. "We're working on it a lot and getting better with each match. But as long as we start out well, our doubles can be just as strong as our singles."

The Quakers, who had a three-game winning streak in February that was broken by last Saturday's loss to Virginia Commonwealth, rebounded to give themselves a win before they face off against Maryland, ranked No. 32 in the nation.

"It's definitely a great opportunity," Koulbitskaya said. "They're a good team but beatable, if we play doubles as well as we did today, and if everybody fights the way, they've been doing."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.