W. Tennis falls a match short of title

The Penn women's tennis team suffered its biggest loss of the season to Yale this weekend - without even playing the Bulldogs.

After winning both matches against Cornell and Columbia to finish the season with a 6-1 Ivy record, the Quakers had done everything they could to defend their Ancient Eight title.

All Penn could do yesterday was await the outcome of the Yale-Dartmouth match and hope for the best - a Yale loss, which would put the Bulldogs and the Quakers in a tie for first place and force a one-game playoff to decide who moves on to the NCAA tournament.

Instead, Yale defeated Dartmouth 4-3 to deny Penn its second straight Ivy title. The Big Green had the lead, 3-2, before two Yale freshmen won their singles matches to secure the Bulldogs' first postseason berth ever.

"We won a lot of close matches and we lost a close one to Yale," coach Mike Dowd said. "We're happy to be 6-1. It was a good season."

Knowing their future was on the line, the women did their part to ensure that they didn't take themselves out of the Ivy race any sooner.

On Senior Day, the Quakers took the win from Cornell, 5-2, at Lott Courts. Penn set the tone for the game by winning the first point of the day in doubles, in which all four graduating seniors - Julia Koulbitskaya, Michelle Mitchell, Yulia Rivelis and Charlotte Tansill - competed.

Koulbitskaya and Rivelis, paired together for the first time this season, won at No. 1 doubles, 8-5.

"It was great to honor the four leaders on our team," Dowd said. "I really think that gave us good energy and momentum."

All four seniors also competed in singles matches, with only Koulbitsakaya falling to the Big Red's Elizabeth Googe at No. 2 singles.

On Saturday, Penn was even more dominating against Columbia, winning all seven points. Once again, the senior doubles teams won their matches.

In singles, the Quakers were nearly untouchable, winning all but two sets. Playing at No. 1, Rivelis dropped her first set before coming back 6-3, 6-0 for the win. Mitchell and Tansill also won.

Penn's depth came in handy at No. 6 singles. Koulbitskaya sat out the singles matches and was replaced by freshman Vidya Dabir. Playing in her first match of the spring, Dabir defeated Columbia's Linnae Gosswami 6-0, 6-3.

Missing from action this weekend was sophomore Kate Kosminskaya who is being treated for a sprained ankle. The season, however, may not be over for her and Koulbitskaya. They have a good chance of qualifying for NCAA nationals as a doubles team based on their No. 36 ranking.

While the season is over for the team, it is not marked with disappointment.

"Our coaches have a good reason to be proud of everyone," Koulbitskaya said. "We had a pretty tough schedule and we did the best we could so we really can't ask for more."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.