Goal in Happy Valley: Set the tone

By Brian Finkel

Staff Writer

finkel@wharton.upenn.edu

It's hard to miss the renowned "Not Penn State" shirt around campus.

For the members of the women's tennis team, there is more at stake against Penn State this Saturday than who is who.

Junior captain Julia Koulbitskaya understands full well what's at stake when the Red and Blue visits the Nittany Lions in their first match of the season.

Saturday's contest is crucial to building off the momentum of Penn's 2006 campaign. The Quakers compiled an impressive 6-1 record in the Ivy League before upsetting No. 30 Tennessee and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

But it was the Quakers' impressive nonconference slate - punctuated by wins over Temple, Penn State. Virginia and Arizona - that helped them snag an at-large berth.

More of the same would only help this time around.

"We're planning to improve tremendously because our team is even stronger than ever, and I really think that we're to be reckoned with nationally, regionally, and definitely in the Ivies," Koulbitskaya said. "There's no team out there that we can't play with."

And that's not all that's at stake.

"Penn State has always been a big rival," Penn coach Mike Dowd said. "Just because it's Penn versus Penn State, with bragging rights of the state of Pennsylvania [on the line]."

Koulbitskaya sized up the challenges the Quakers will face in Happy Valley, Pa.

"They're usually a very scrappy team," she said. "But we have a lot of diversity of game styles, so I think we match up fine."

The Nittany Lions are coming off the Florida State tournament, where sophomore Dorothy Dohanics was the only Penn State woman who advanced to the final singles round. The duo of Jenny Shular and Sasha Abraham also made it to the finals in the doubles competition, but fell 8-5.

But Sara Schiffman, the Quakers' assistant coach, assessed Penn State's well-rounded, even level of play.

"They're pretty deep throughout," she said. "We can't take any spots for granted."

Junior captain Yulia Rivelis expressed concern about "first match jitters," but seemed confident about her team's chances.

"To be honest, I don't think anything needs that much improvement," she said. "As a whole, I think we're pretty strong."

As the Quakers prepare themselves to start the season, one cause of excitement has been the incoming freshman class. Teammates and coaches alike have nothing but praise for a group that promises to play a prominent role in the team's success - or failure - this season.

"The freshman class brings, definitely, a lot of power," Koulbitskaya said. "The freshmen have very, very strong games."

"You've just got to keep setting the bar higher," Dowd said.

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