When the Penn women's tennis team faces off against the Terrapins, the Quakers will play a young team that is out to prove itself. Of the eight women on the Terps' roster, seven are underclassmen.
That doesn't mean Maryland (1-4) doesn't have what it takes to win. Two weeks ago, the Terps' Michal Amir defeated Princeton's Melissa Saiontz, who is the 36th-ranked collegiate tennis player in the country.
Penn (2-1), on the other hand, has a more experienced and well-balanced roster, which includes four seniors, as well as sophomore and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Ekaterina Kosminskaya.
"Maryland's a good fighting team. We need to go in there and fight them back," said coach Mike Dowd. "They're going to be tough in every spot."
The Terps are counting on their four youngsters - three from Europe - to turn things around after the team had a dismal 2007 finish.
Last year, they started the season with a 6-0 record only to lose 15 of their next 17. The Terps saw their national ranking fall from 33 to 75 over the course of three months.
Penn is currently ranked No. 56. Last weekend, the Red and Blue fell to No. 23 Virginia Commonwealth 6-1. Maryland is also going into this Saturday's match following a loss to VCU, 7-0.
"We're pushing off our loss and we're more motivated," said Quakers captain Julia Koulbitskaya. "I think we're definitely more prepared going into this one."
From the VCU match, Dowd learned that his team has to work on upping its intensity, conditioning and mental toughness.
"I'm looking for them to be ready to play every single play, keep even when things aren't going their way and not have mental lapses," he said.
Tomorrow will be the Quakers' last indoor match before they travel to California and begin practicing outdoors. They will play five California state schools over a seven-day stretch.
Although the women are looking forward to the warm weather, they are keeping the California trip in the back of their minds until they finish their last match on the East Coast.
"We want to finish off the pre-Spring Break season strong," said Koulbitskaya.
