Freshman Alexis Plukas won all four of her matches this weekend as she helped lead the No. 42 women's tennis team to wins over Yale and Brown.
"She really stepped up and played some quality tennis for us," coach Mike Dowd said.
Penn went on the road to play both matches indoors at the respective schools. The Quakers defeated Yale, 5-2, on Friday and Brown, 6-1, on Saturday.
"It's tough to play on the road and in indoor facilities," Dowd said.
The Quakers are now 9-4-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Ivy League. They are tied for first with 2-0 Harvard. Penn beat Princeton last weekend.
Plukas was not the only player to go undefeated on the weekend. Senior Raluca Ciochina won all three of her matches this weekend.
While wins over Brown (4-10, 0-2) and Yale (6-7, 1-1) appear relatively routine, road wins should never be taken for granted.
"We had a long weekend," Dowd said. "We were all fatigued; we were all sick at one point."
The team continued to play strong in doubles competition, winning five of six matches on the weekend.
Yulia Rivelis and Julia Koulbitskaya won both first doubles matches. Ciochina and Plukas won both second doubles matches and Michelle Mitchell and Caroline Stanislawski split their third doubles matches.
The Quakers were nearly as proficient in singles competition, winning nine of 12 matches.
Ciochina, Plukas, Stanislawski and Sara Schiffman each swept their singles matches on the weekend.
The Quakers saw only three singles matches reach three sets. Ciochina, Plukas and Stanislawski each won a three-set match.
However, the women's tennis team is not ready to rest on its laurels. Next weekend, the Quakers will take on No. 17 Harvard in a match that may decide the Ivy title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
Harvard and Penn are the only nationally ranked Ivy tennis programs.
Dowd acknowledges that Harvard is the team to beat in the Ivy League. However, the Quakers are taking anything but a defeatist attitude.
"We wanted to be 3-0 and come back home to give it a great shot," Dowd said.
Penn has achieved that early goal and will do its best to defend home court on Friday.
"Our long-term goal is to win the title as well as to make the NCAA Tournament," Dowd said. "We could also get an at-large bid, which we are currently on the bubble for."
Sixty-four teams make the tournament.
