The story for the Penn men's tennis team has become quite familiar: The squad has challenged itself with tough road matches against top-tier teams and repeatedly come up short.
The 68th-ranked Quakers experienced a similar result this weekend when they fell at No. 28 Michigan, 6-1. It marks the team's ninth loss in as many tries against top-50 teams away from home, with five of those matches at neutral sites.
"When we lose, of course it's disappointing but it makes us tougher and better prepared for the Ivy season," senior Mikhail Bekker said.
Early on it looked as if Penn (4-11) would prove worthy competitors to the Wolverines (11-4) as all three doubles matches were tightly contested. However, the Quakers squandered leads in two of the matches, leading to a sweep by the home side.
"In our match, it was a matter of a few points here and there and that was the difference between a win and a loss," Bekker said. "We lost the break at seven-all and that basically did it."
Michigan's sweep in doubles came as no surprise, as the Wolverines have won 12 of 15 doubles points on the year, including eight sweeps. Penn, on the other hand has struggled in that department, only taking five of 15.
"They do all the little things well," Penn coach Mark Riley said about Michigan's doubles play. "Coming in they lost two matches in a row, so they're not unbeatable."
Riley felt his team was competitive in the doubles matches though, noting that the enthusiastic home crowd may have been the difference in securing the point.
It was more of the same story in the singles ranks, as the Quakers once again squandered leads in key matches. At No. 1 singles, 50th-ranked Jason Pinsky won the first set over No. 52 Matko Maravic 7-5, only to have Maravic storm back in the final two sets 6-2, 6-3. Sophomore Jonathan Boym experienced a similar fate as he took a one-set lead over No. 39 Brian Hung, only to lose each of the next two sets 6-4.
The only win in singles for Penn came at No. 5, where Bekker defeated George Navas after three contested sets.
But there is some good news for the team. The weekend could be considered an unofficial end to the series of trips around the country where the Quakers have faced so many top-flight teams.
Only Army and Navy remain before the Ivy slate begins.
"We have had a great opportunity to play against all those tough teams that our peers in the Ivy League haven't," Bekker said. "This is great practice for us before the Ivy season."
Though their morale remains high, the Quakers will have to take advantage of the home-field matches to salvage what has so far been a disappointing season.
