W. Tennis overcomes Penn State and Virginia for two victories

Alexis Plukas is learning what college tennis is all about.

The freshman won the first two singles matches of her collegiate career this weekend during Penn's victories over Penn State and Virginia, but she maintains that it was her teammates who gave her the extra push she needed.

"The team really rallied together at the end," Plukas said.

While this was not the deciding factor in the Red and Blue's 5-2 victory over the Nittany Lions on Friday, the Quakers' boisterous encouragement may have earned them a victory over the Cavaliers.

Plukas won the deciding match of the tight 4-3 contest with her teammates fully behind her.

"I was playing up and down," Plukas said. "It really helped my confidence and helped me win."

But perhaps Plukas should not have been put in such a high-pressure situation in the first place.

After the Cavaliers swept the doubles matches, Penn was put in difficult position -- it would have to take four out of six singles matches from a tough Virginia team.

"The doubles point is really important," said sophomore Julia Koulbitskaya, who won her singles match from the No. 2 flight. She added that it would have been an easier match "if we had gotten off to an earlier start."

Because they had to dig themselves out of this hole, the Quakers could not afford to crack under the pressure.

Of the four matches Penn won against Virginia, two went to three sets and three sets required the Quakers to win seven games.

"I was pleased we competed well," Penn coach Mike Dowd said. "We fought; that made a difference."

It seems that the seeds of this desire to compete were sown a couple days earlier.

Even though the Quakers were fully expecting to beat them, the Nittany Lions put up just enough of a fight to make the victory feel well-earned and give them a jolt of self-assurance.

"The key for those girls is confidence and playing without fear," assistant coach Amanda Johnson said. "They all did, even the ones who lost."

This confidence served Penn well this weekend, but Dowd emphasized the team's need to play better tennis.

"It's still early in the season," Dowd said. "We're not quite match-tight through the lineup. We're getting there."

Next week, the Quakers will face a tougher test when they play at Virginia Commonwealth, which is ranked No. 33 in the nation. Even though it is currently ranked more than 20 spots below VCU, Penn will not likely give in to the pressure.

Even with their backs against the wall, the Quakers come to play.

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