Ekaterina Kosminskaya's first home match was a brief one.
In less than an hour the freshman won twelve straight games and put away Richmond's number one player, Pamela Duran, 6-0, 6-0. The rest of the afternoon didn't go much better for the visiting Spiders, as the Quakers won 6-1 in a convincing fashion.
"The team played great today," head coach Michael Dowd said. "We were much sharper. I think you're going to see this team get better with every single match."
An improving Penn team is a scary thought for the rest of the Ivy League - particularly for any opponent who has to play Kosminskaya, who was not around last year when Penn went to the NCAAs. On Friday at Levy Pavilion, it looked as though she had no place to improve.
"You very rarely see a victory like that against a team's number one player," Dowd said. "Every school has a number one who plays at a high level, but she just blew right through her."
Kosminskaya insists she did not come out trying to win love and love "I was excited for my first home match and just wanted to win," said Kosminskaya. "It happened 6-0, 6-0 because I had a great day."
The whole team was excited to see such a convincing victory on the first court.
Kosminskaya "dominated today," junior captain Julia Koulbitskaya said. "She blew [Duran] off the court."
Koulbitskaya, who was on the court next to the freshman, added that "whenever I looked over she was painting the lines."
Koulbitskaya's match was not over as quickly. After winning the first set, 6-4, she lost a crucial game and went down 4-5.
As a deciding third set looked imminent, the veteran Koulbitskaya reeled off three straight games and ended the match then and there.
"My teammates came down on the courts and supported me for the last few games," Koulbitskaya said.
All match long, Koulbitskaya had the support of senior captain Ashley Lostritto, who sat on the sideline and talked to Koulbitskaya between games.
"Ashley and I go way back," Koulbitskaya said. "We're from the same town and she has been watching me play since I was fourteen. She's great out there. She sees strategy and helps motivate me."
The Red and Blue also got a strong victory from freshman Maria Anismova who came back to win in three sets after losing the first set.
The Quakers' lone loss came in No. 4 singles. Sophomore Lenka Snajdrova was defeated in her first match of the year.
"We just need some more match experience," Dowd said. "It's the best way to get better. We're certainly going to play more sets in practice this week."
Penn looks to stay undefeated as it takes on Marshall and East Tennessee State at Levy Pavillion next weekend.
