Just one match into the Ivy League season, the men's tennis team's season is still far from over.
But after losing 5-2 to No. 71 Princeton in front of a boisterous crowd at Levy Tennis Pavilion, Penn's chances of winning the Ivy League title are already fading.
Since the Ivy League's start of competition in 1956, a team with more than one league loss has only once finished atop the standings. And when Penn and Harvard shared the title with identical 7-2 records in 1970, the Ivy League competed in the 10-team Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
"I would definitely say [that every match is a must-win]," said senior Eric Riley. "It's frustrating to us. To lose our Ivy opener definitely sets us back a little bit."
Saturday's match featured a playoff-like atmosphere and intensity. When players weren't pumping their fists and yelling encouragement between points, the fans picked up the slack, at one point even berating the referee for an overrule in Princeton's favor.
"The guys have to get used to teams coming in here with a ton of energy. The last two years we've been at the top . so every team that plays us is going to be pumped up beyond belief," Penn coach Nik DeVore said. "[Princeton's fans] were very vocal, and the matches in the Ivy League are always heated."
While seniors Jason Pinsky and Joseph Lok were still battling in the third sets of their singles matches, they heard the Princeton contingent's celebration when the Tigers (9-5, 1-0 Ivy) clinched the overall victory. Lok appeared dejected and lost three games in a row before rebounding to win the set 6-4.
"[Lok] would much rather lose his match and have the team win," DeVore said. "So I just went out there and I told him 'fight for this, for pride and for self-confidence going into the next match.'"
Despite winning his singles match, Lok was so frustrated that he broke his racquets in the locker room after the match.
"[The players] were very dejected in the locker room, more so than I've seen them the entire season, but to me that's a good thing," DeVore said. "This should resonate with them. They should be thinking about it and be disappointed."
Penn's only other point came at No. 5 singles, where Riley returned from a pulled hip flexor to post a convincing 6-4, 6-4 victory. Riley and senior Brandon O'Gara also won their doubles match, 8-4.
"It felt good yesterday to come back," Riley said. "I performed pretty well, so I was happy on my part."
The Quakers (9-8, 0-1) will look to bounce back with a week of practice before home matches against Yale and Brown next weekend.
"I think we just have to go back to the drawing board and work on, in particular, our singles play," Riley said. "We'll probably end up switching the doubles teams up some as well. But in the end, it all comes down to training."
