The duo of Yulia Rivelis and Julia Koulbitskaya are held to high expectations this weekend at the National Tennis Invitational in New York. Both players are first-team All-Ivy honorees who last year led the women's tennis team to a second-place finish in the ECAC Championships in addition to qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
But for the third time this fall, the two will showcase their individual games when they take the court.
"I always hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Rivelis said. "We are all hoping to do well in our respective courts. We have a few good matches under our belts."
At the Cissie Leary Invitational two weeks ago, the pair - seeded third in the doubles competition - outplayed its opponents and advanced to the finals. This weekend, however, the tournament is at the national level, provoking increased expectations.
"There are teams from all over the country coming, so it is a good opportunity for us to get some national exposure and to play high-level tennis," Penn coach Mike Dowd said. "It will be a good gauge to see how we are doing."
The tournament will host teams that the Quakers have not yet seen this year, throwing the team into unfamiliar waters.
Over the last few weeks, numerous Quakers have gone deep into tournaments, outplaying opponents and showing high team moral. This weekend, new and old players strive to make a great combination.
"Our whole team gets along great," Rivelis said. The captains and coaches "do our best to help the girls on and off the court."
The team's camaraderie is likely to help provide multiple wins this weekend.
"I think the closeness of our team is one of our main strengths," Dowd said. "We have players from all over the world. We have different personalities. It is one of the reasons why we are as good as we are."
All healthy players on the team are expected to travel this weekend and take part in the individual matches. Maria Anisimova, a freshman who will be returning from injury, is likely to make a strong impact right away.
"I think outside of our top players, who I know are going to play well, Maria is someone to look out for," Dowd said. "This will be a good test for her and also Lauren Sadaka, who has had a pretty good start this year."
Sadaka, who played exceptionally well at the previous invitational - making the quarterfinals - will be expected to compete as well as the higher-seeded players on the team. Along with Sadaka, new players Charlotte Tansil and Jackie Wong will add to the Red and Blue's fighting spirit.
The tournament will start this afternoon and run through Monday.
"Finals are on Monday," Dowd said. "We hope that we are going to be there."
