With high expectations and team support, the women's tennis team fought with fire this weekend during the 14th annual William & Mary Invitational in Virginia.
The matches took place on Friday and Saturday in individual tournament format, and no team scores were kept. The Quakers sent four women to the event, participating in three singles flights and two doubles flights.
First-team All-Ivy honoree Yulia Rivelis was eliminated in the first round of Flight A singles, while fellow first-teamer Julia Koulbitskaya and Charlie Tansil both advanced to the second round before bowing out. In doubles, Rivelis and Koulbitskaya teamed up but lost both of their matches, while Tansil and Michelle Mitchell won their first and lost their second.
The team, consisting mostly of upperclassman, had a strong reputation to live up to after making it to the second round of last spring's NCAA Tournament.
Throughout the tournament, the Quakers were struck with minor injuries to two key players: juniors Koulbitskaya and Mitchell. Both players commented that these injuries will not keep them from playing in the Cissie Leary Invitational at home next weekend.
Despite the 4-7 record altogether for the Penn players, there were some individual victories. Koulbitskaya and junior Tansil both experienced second-round action in their individual flights.
In Flight B of the singles bracket, Koulbitskaya handily defeated Amanda Rales of Virginia, 6-4, 6-3, but was overtaken in the quarterfinals by Virginia Commonwealth's Olga Borisova, 6-3, 6-0. During the quarterfinals, Koulbitskaya pulled a muscle in her back.
"I couldn't perform my best because of my injury, but it was nice to get some match play and get ready for the season," Koulbitskaya said.
Tansil, a transfer from North Carolina, found herself matched up against an old ally in the first round: UNC's Hanes Harris.
"She wasn't really a rival - more of a friend," Tansil said of Harris. Still, Tansil showed no mercy, as she cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
The Quakers expect big things from Tansil this year, and she hopes to meet their expectations.
"I love it here; it's a much better fit," Tansil said. "The team dynamic is a little different, not better or worse than at UNC."
Rivelis, Penn's No. 1 singles player, lost her match against Mallory Voelker of Purdue, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3. She continued to the consolation quarterfinals, where she compensated her three-set loss by crushing Boston College's Dasha Cherkasov, 6-4, 6-1. This redemption came to a halt in the semifinals, however, with her loss to Virginia Tech's Inga Beermann, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8.
"I think this weekend was a good way to get back into the swing of things," Rivelis said. "It could have gone a little better, but match play is the easiest way to improve your tennis."
The tournament concluded yesterday, with no representatives of Penn in the finals.
Despite the tough time that the Quakers had at the tournament, the team isn't entirely disheartened by the weekend's competition.
"The fall season is mainly to get the new players experience and the old players to get in better shape and gear up for spring," Penn coach Mike Dowd said.
