The Penn men's tennis team battled Saturday against No. 8 Michigan, but when the final point had been decided, they were left with an all-too-familiar feeling.
The Wolverines dispatched the Quakers 7-0 at Lott Courts for the team's fourth loss over spring break, and sixth straight overall.
The banged-up Quakers (7-7) were home for the first time all break, after a difficult West Coast trip that featured powerhouse California-Berkeley and strong San Francisco and St. Mary's teams.
The Red and Blue came closest to a win at their first stop, Saint Mary's, when they fell 4-3. Injured starter Justin Fox saw action for the first time since spraining his ankle in February.
But next, Quakers lost to Cal, 7-0, and also lost starter Eric Riley. Coach Nik DeVore said that the senior suffered a "nagging groin pull." He will not play on Wednesday, but DeVore expects him back by the match against Saint John's next week.
At the Quakers' last stop, sophomore Jeffrey Karsh snatched Penn's lone win of the day in his singles debut as the San Francisco dominated, 6-1.
The Red and Blue were happy to return to more familiar pastures after that road trip, but Lott Courts did not bring a lot of luck.
They surprised Michigan's three ranked doubles teams and finished with close losses: 8-6, 8-6, 8-7.
The energy continued through singles, as Jason Pinsky fought Wolverine phenom Matko Maravic in a fiercely played 7-6, 6-4 loss. Senior Joseph Lok battled visible shoulder pain as he also brought his opponent to a first-set tiebreaker, before falling, 7-6, 6-3.
Fiery senior Brandon O'Gara stole Penn's lone set of the day in his 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 defeat. O'Gara, in his first singles match this season, was slotted at No. 4 because of Penn's rash of injuries.
"Every sports team goes through [these injuries], and we just have to step it up," DeVore said. "It's clear now that we didn't have quite the depth we needed."
He may be getting some of his roster back - starter Jonathan Boym, out over a month, is slated to begin hitting by the end of the week, eyeing a return against Princteon.
But DeVore emphasized that the ingredients for success are already there.
"Our doubles have been good overall [9-2 before spring break] but we've lost our 'mojo,' if that's what you want to call it," said the coach. "As for singles, the talent is there, it's just a mental thing. Getting healthy is the first part, but I think it's more mental than anything else."
Pinsky added, "We need to keep the intensity up from the start, and just play confident. We still have two weeks to buckle down before the Ivies."
