Junior Jason Pinsky is looking to ace his midterm at Penn this week.
This midterm will take place from today through Tuesday at Penn's Levy Pavilion, where he will look to lead the men's tennis team to a strong showing at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Northeast Men's Regional Championship.
Last year, Pinsky dropped a heartbreaking three-set match to top-seeded Brandon Wai from Yale in the semifinals. This year, Pinsky is setting his goals higher.
"I've been training real hard for this tournament," he said, "Hopefully, I can make it to the finals or win it," he said.
The top two places in the singles brackets and the champion of the doubles brackets will make the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships Nov. 2-5.
"I think it's a pretty significant tournament," junior Eric Riley said upon being asked about the ITA Regionals. "I think it's a good measure to see how well our guys are competing against everybody else."
The Quakers will field singles entries of Pinsky, freshman Adam Schwartz, Riley, Alex Sebastian and junior Brandon O'Gara.
The two doubles teams that will represent Penn will be Riley/Pinksy and O'Gara/Schwartz.
All of the Ivy League teams will send their top players to this tournament, as well as 32 other teams from around the area.
The Quakers are looking for an excellent showing, and having a strong home-court advantage could certainly help them achieve this.
"Whenever you have home-court advantage . I think it gives you a little boost in your matches," Riley said.
Pinsky further noted that all of the Penn players were already familiar with the courts, whereas players from other teams would need to adjust.
One aspect of this tournament that makes it different from others is the fact that it will be played indoors as opposed to outdoors.
"The games play a little faster indoors," Riley noted. "To some extent, it favors somebody who comes to the net."
So while Penn's campus is largely vacated for fall break, Levy Tennis Pavilion will still be packed for a tournament with big implications. Hopefully for the Quakers, Pinsky and his teammates will have studied hard for this important test.
