Coming into this weekend's matches against Harvard and Dartmouth, Penn found itself right in the thick of things, just half a game behind the first place Crimson.
But its hopes for a third straight Ivy League title were likely dashed after a 7-0 loss at No. 48 Harvard, leading coach Nik DeVore to say that his team is realistically fighting for second place.
"[The Crimson] favored going into the season, and they are, I think, no doubt, the best team in the league this year," DeVore said.
Penn bounced back to win 4-3 victory against underdog Dartmouth on Saturday, but the damage had already been done.
The Quakers (12-9, 3-2 Ivy) now sit in a tie for third place in the Ancient Eight with only two matches left to play. For the Red and Blue to have any chance at first place, they would need at least two losses by Harvard (12-6, 4-0) and one by Brown.
That result seems next to impossible, as the Crimson continue to justify their strong national ranking with their dominance in the Ivy League.
"We were going into the match pretty fired up, but I think you have to give credit to Harvard," senior Eric Riley said. "Just watching them play, seeing their record for the last five matches, they're a really strong team, and certainly this past Friday they deserved to win."
Penn's doubles teams played three tight matches - including an 8-6 loss by seniors Jason Pinsky and Joseph Lokto Harvard's No. 33-ranked doubles team - despite losing all of them.
But besides these close matches, the Crimson outclassed the Quakers. In fact, sophomore Adam Schwartz was the only Quaker to win a set in singles play.
The lopsided loss may have had a hangover effect, as Penn barely hung on in a victory over Dartmouth (6-9, 1-3). Three singles matches went to three sets, and at No. 2 singles, Lok was forced to retire due to injury after facing a 5-0 deficit in the first set.
"It's tough, it's definitely disappointing to come off a loss like that," Riley said. "There could have been some slight carryover effect. But I think it also makes a statement that we did go there and - even if it was maybe closer than it should have been - pull off a victory under those circumstances."
DeVore said that the Big Green were especially determined because they had not beaten Penn since the 2003-2004 season.
"[Dartmouth] made us one of their priorities this year, to beat us," DeVore said. "They fought hard, but our guys just out-fought them."
With only one weekend of play left this season, Penn's four seniors want to finish their careers on a high note.
"For the senior class, because we've got a large group of seniors, I think that fires up a lot of guys, just knowing that these are going to be the last matches of their career," Riley said. "On a personal basis, it's really important to play well and stay fired up to finish the season."
