Doubles team hopes the 'Skayas the limit

Off the court, senior Julia Koulbitskaya and sophomore Kate Kosminskaya are quiet, reserved and calm.

But on it, they're fierce and aggressive, according to coach Mike Dowd.

Yesterday, the NCAA officially announced what Dowd and the Quakers already knew: The two women from Moscow are heading to Tulsa, Okla. for the Women's Tennis Doubles Championship in three weeks.

"We were expecting it because our ranking is pretty high," Koulbitskaya said.

It's the fifth time in the last eight years that Penn has been in the national tournament and the second straight year in doubles. Last season, Kosminskaya paired with another Moscow native, Maria Anisimova.

The Quakers used several different combinations throughout this year, but Koulbitskaya and Kosminskaya emerged as the reliable No. 1 tandem.

"They get great return serves," Dowd said. "They put a lot of pressure on their opponents. They approach really well."

The nation's No. 36 doubles team went 12-1 in the fall - winning two tournaments - and 8-3 in the spring, including 4-1 in Ivy battles.

That was good enough to secure the Ivy League's automatic bid to the Tournament, awarded to the top-ranked pair. Nobody else from the Ancient Eight cracked the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's top 60.

"We had a team banquet the other night, and they both said very kind words about each other," Dowd said. "Julia talked about how much she's learned from Kate. Julia's a senior and Kate's a sophomore - wise beyond her years."

Part of that on-court wisdom was surely accrued in Gainsville, Fla. during last year's tournament, when Anismova and Kosminskaya made Penn's first ever doubles tournament appearance. They pulled off the first-round upset.

Koulbitskaya has never been to the postseason.

"I'm really looking forward to playing on this high a level with great players," she said.

Dowd does not expect this year's pair to be seeded, meaning that "just a random draw" determines its matchups.

Dowd is not allowed to hold any official practices during reading and exam days to prepare his players, but he said that he's sure the women are working out on their own. After finals, they'll hit the court again, though because of their schedules, not necessarily at the same time. Koulbitskaya, for instance, will return to New York for several days to practice with her family.

Dowd doesn't think that will pose a problem.

"As long as they're both hitting the ball clean, then when they get down to the court together, they'll be fine," he said.

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