The Penn women's tennis team can now leave the Levy Pavilion courts without having lost there.
The Quakers won't return home until April 11, when it will be warm enough to play outdoors. And in their indoor finale, they slipped by an all-international Old Dominion 4-3 to remain undefeated in their spring season.
Unlike their first match, a 6-1 romp over cross-town Temple, this victory required a bit more sweat.
The Quakers showed a natural grace only in their doubles sweep, taking most sets by at least a four-point margin. Senior captain Yulia Rivelis and sophomore Maria Anisimova, who played in the No. 1 doubles, made quick work of the Monarchs in an 8-2 win.
The doubles sweep "gave us that little extra 'oomph,'" Rivelis said.
They needed that momentum for singles play, which would prove to be a bit rockier.
Senior Julia Koulbitskaya's easy win over the Monarch's Barbara Costa (6-1, 6-1) was soon offset by Anisimova and senior Charlotte Tansill's successive losses.
"Julia's quick second win was vital for us," said assistant coach Sara Schiffman, who was leading the women in head coach Michael Dowd's place.
"Old Dominion was very tough. They didn't back down."
Breakout freshman and North Carolina native Alexa Ely responded with a solid win of her own (6-4, 6-0) in only the second dual match of her college career, pulling Penn even in singles with two wins and two losses.
With the one point from doubles, the Quakers held a 3-2 lead.
They turned to the experienced Rivelis to secure the final point needed to defeat the Lady Monarchs.
The Moldova native took on South Africa's Charleen Haarhoff in a fiery three-set showdown filled with heated verbal exchanges and smoldering glares. In the end, the more experienced player took the win, and Rivelis came through for her teammates (6-1, 6-7, 6-3).
"[Haarhoff] was a tough opponent," Rivelis said.
"I lost my intensity a bit in the second set but picked it up in the third," she added. "There could have been moments where I focused a little better."
Senior Michelle Mitchell lost the closest singles match of the evening (7-5, 3-6, 7-6), but by then, the Quakers had already sealed the win.
Despite the result, the team was not overly pleased with its performance.
"Maybe it wasn't the best day overall for everybody," Schiffman said, "but I thought the intensity was pretty good."
