Penn women's tennis gave its raucous crowd plenty to cheer about against Princeton on Saturday. The Quakers defeated the Tigers 5-2 in front of an unusually large following at Lott Courts.
The match was the first in Ivy League play and its importance was amplified by the strength of the No. 72 Tigers (8-6, 0-1 Ivy). Even with a strong Princeton team, the Quakers (11-4, 1-0) came in poised.
"To be perfectly honest, I think we had it the whole time," co-captain Yulia Rivelis said. "There were moments the match could go either way, but I never doubted us."
The Quakers quickly won the doubles point, sweeping all three matches. The new tandem of Ekaterina Kosminskaya and Lenka Snajdrova led the way, winning the number-one doubles 8-2.
"Winning the doubles point certainly helps keep the energy up going into singles," Rivelis said.
Rivelis's singles match was never in doubt. She defeated Darcy Robertson 6-3, 6-4 in the number-three position. Rivelis and fellow captain Julia Koulbitskaya have been oscillating between number two and three singles.
"I'm confident in both those players at two and three," coach Michael Dowd said. "They're both playing really good tennis."
"It doesn't make a difference where I play," Rivelis said. "Everybody's point is valued the same."
Some of those points were in jeopardy at times. While in the end there weren't any three-setters, Kosminskaya looked like she was headed for a third set.
Kosminskaya went down 5-6 in the second set amid some disputed line calls.
"I try not to change my game when the match gets close," Kosminskaya said. "Of course I felt a little nervous but I try to stay calm and block out my emotions."
She was able to keep it together, winning the second set and the match.
Kosminskaya's big forehand was not the only loud noise coming from Lott Courts. Quakers fans turned out in large numbers for the rival matchup. The team had been promoting the event all week and was elated with the result.
"It was great having such a large crowd behind us," senior co-captain Ashley Lostritto said. "They were a little rowdy but as long as they are on our side we are OK with it."
Dowd credited the fans with helping secure the win.
"When it got a little tight, the crowd focused more on the match, which certainly helped out the players," he said.
The win catapulted the Quakers into uncharted territory. With one of their biggest matches behind them, they are now the highest-ranked Ivy team. But Dowd shied away from calling the team League favorite, pointing out Harvard, which hasn't lost a League match since 2002, as another one.
"If we keep the intensity up for the next six matches, I'm confident we can beat all of" the League, Dowd said. "We have a target on our back and other teams will rise to the occasion."
