For the Penn men's tennis team, today's match against St. John's marks the last non-conference tune-up before the Princeton match on Saturday. But after losing six of their past seven matches, the Quakers know better than to look past their next opponent.
"St. John's is quite good. They're better than they've been in a few years," Penn coach Nik DeVore said in a telephone message. "We have to take them extremely seriously and can't overlook them and start looking at Princeton."
St. John's (5-7) - which features an all-international roster - is already quite familiar with the Ivy League and may serve as a barometer for Penn's chances in league play. The Red Storm are 1-4 against the Ancient Eight, but in those matches they won a respectable 15 of 35 total team points, including a doubles sweep against No. 47 Harvard.
The Quakers (8-7) have been dealing with an injury-depleted lineup for much of the season, but they finally appear to be recovering just in time for league play.
"Guys are practicing well, playing well," DeVore said. "A lot of the guys who have been injured are feeling much better now, so we should be close to full strength, if not at full strength, in preparation for this match."
Besides the expected boosts from Eric Riley and Jonathan Boym, who are both tabbed to return from injuries, Penn is counting on its core of veteran leaders to carry the team down the stretch.
"There's definitely a sense of urgency," senior captain Jason Pinsky said. "The seniors are looking to go out on top."
Earlier in the season, DeVore had hoped that singles play would match the success of his doubles teams, which had won nine of 11 doubles points. But since then, the doubles players have faltered, losing four straight during Penn's recent slide.
The Quakers will look to build on a tightly-contested 4-3 victory over Navy last week despite missing two of their regular starters.
"That match definitely helped with our confidence," Pinsky said. "To win a close one, not being at full strength, definitely showed that we can win when some of our players are injured."
Today's match is the first of four consecutive home matches for Penn, and DeVore said that it is imperative for his team to capitalize on the home-court advantage against its tough upcoming competition.
With Princeton looming on the horizon, the Quakers know that this battle with the Red Storm is their last chance to right the ship before conference play.
"When I transferred to this school, I told everyone on the team that every year would be a failure if we did not win the Ivy League title," Pinsky said. "One loss in the league could cost us the title. This will be a real good test to see if everyone is ready."
