PRINCETON, N.J., March 31 - The rankings said that Penn was the underdog coming into its Ivy League opener against Princeton. But when all was said and done, the Quakers were the ones to separate themselves from the field.
The men's tennis team defeated host Princeton Saturday 5-2 in a match that lived up to its billing as a contest between two of the League's best.
The intensity was apparent from the very beginning at the doubles point that came down to a tiebreak. Despite squandering a three-game lead, the No. 2 team of Mikhail Bekker and Jonathan Boym dominated the tiebreak to give the Quakers the early advantage.
Any momentum that Penn (7-11, 1-0 Ivy) gained from winning the doubles point faded, however, as Princeton (7-5, 0-1) won the opening set in five of six singles matches.
By far the most intense of the opening sets came at No. 1, where junior Jason Pinsky renewed his rivalry with Princeton's Peter Capkovic. After each surrendered a service break, the set came down to a tiebreak, with the crowd focusing its attention on the showdown.
Pinsky fought off three set points before eventually losing the tiebreak, 11-9.
Despite losing all but one of the opening sets, Quakers coach Mark Riley felt he had the hammer.
"I wasn't really that concerned," Riley said. "All I wanted to do was make sure we didn't give up any easy ones."
Penn did its coach one better when it came back to tie four of the matches at one set apeice.
Especially impressive were No. 2 Boym and No. 4 Justin Fox, who both looked to be overmatched during their opening sets. Boym refocused to win the second set 6-3 over Sratha Saengsuwarn while Fox, after losing the first set 6-0, shook off his frustration to defeat George Carpeni in the second.
Penn's only easy victory came at No. 3, where Bekker gained a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Alex Krueger-Wyman, giving the Quakers a 2-0 edge. But the overall result was still very much in doubt, as the remaining five matches stayed close.
Pinksy finished with a straight-set loss to Capkovic and freshman Adam Schwartz had a third-set tiebreak loss to Charlie Brosens at No. 6. But Penn would clinch the victory as Boym, Fox and Joseph Lok all triumphed in three sets.
"In these matches, you just don't want to give in and we had good will today," Riley said of his team's ability to battle back from deficits.
Despite being the early frontrunner for the Ivy League title, Penn has since fallen out of the rankings thanks to a 1-11 record against ranked opponents, while three other Ancient Eight teams sit in the top 75.
"All those tough matches we played this year paid off" Saturday, Riley said. "We were tough at every spot and that makes us really tough to beat."
After the win over Princeton, Penn will have a chance to solidify itself as the league's favorite with a match at No. 63 Brown next weekend. The Quakers will also stop in New Haven, Conn. to battle unranked Yale.
