Saint Joseph's Nick Tuxen raised both his sweaty palms to the sky as if asking for help from the Hawk itself.
But the only thing that came from the heavens was a blistering serve from Penn's Eric Riley. Tuxen was overwhelmed, and any hope that was still lingering was dashed. The 8-5 doubles victory and sweep of all three doubles matches for the Quakers was sealed.
Their singles players were just as efficient, winning five of six.
All in all, the Penn men's tennis team neatly dismantled St. Joe's 6-1.
Head coach Nik DeVore and his players are on their way to cleaning out the neighborhood after a solid win over Drexel last week.
"Our goal today was to start off strong with the doubles," DeVore said. "Doubles always sets the tone for the entire match . It's a momentum thing."
The Quakers got that early momentum, with seniors Jason Pinsky and Joseph Lok defeating the Hawks' Phil Garabedian and Will Pearson 8-1 in the first match of the day.
"We definitely took care of business with our No. 1 doubles," DeVore added.
The St. Joe's players were not shy about venting their frustration on the court, going as far as to loudly lament their own mistakes.
"I suck!" was a frequent refrain among the Hawks.
Pinsky, who was out sick last week against Drexel, started his spring singles season strong with a short and sweet victory over Pat Adams. The All-Ivy senior cruised through the first set, 6-0, and maintained a steady lead to win the second 6-4.
"I always look forward to early matches in the year to gain some confidence . to get out in style," he said.
All five singles victories came in straight sets. Justin Fox was involved in the lone close match. He lost the first set, 6-7, but came back to win the second, 6-4, forcing a tiebreaker. But Will Pearson proved to be too much, hanging on, 11-9.
Overall, however, Penn's superior athleticism and maneuvering gave Penn the victory, and DeVore admitted there were very few negatives to bring out of Levy Pavilion.
"It's kind of hard because we weren't really tested," DeVore explained. "When you're playing against a team that you are supposed to be handling, it's important to come out with a plan, with some things to work on."
His players agreed.
"As long as we focus and keep the intensity for the entire duration, we can make pretty quick work of some of these teams," Pinsky said. "We can work on specific shots."
Players coming back from injury and sickness also made their presence known on the court. Brandon O'Gara was "very impressive," Devore said, as the senior lost just one game in his stylish singles win. Adam Schwartz also came back with a singles win.
The Quakers' next match against Georgetown will provide a tougher challenge, but, for now, DeVore was pleased with the easy victory.
"The guys did a good job closing out," he said.
