M. Tennis | Toughness wins out at Levy

It may have been 20 degrees outside Sunday afternoon, but Levy Tennis Pavilion was burning.

Spectators witnessed shouting matches on multiple courts, racquets being tossed and even a post-match verbal altercation between an opposing player and an official.

Penn withstood it all and trounced Navy, 6-1, continuing its 10-year winning streak over the Academy.

"We like to play teams like that because we have to go into hostile territory like at Brown and Yale this year," Penn coach Nik DeVore said.

Although the Quakers (4-4) pounded the Midshipmen in singles, winning all six matches, DeVore said that they will continue to "experiment" with their doubles lineup.

DeVore commended second-seeded junior tandem Alex Vasin and Justen Roth for "doing what they had to do" in Penn's lone doubles win, 8-6.

"It was a good, close match," Vasin said. "[The Midshipmen] may not be the most technically sound players, but they will fight until the end."

Roth agreed with his partner.

"They always get the grittiest, scrappiest players," he said of Navy. "They are as mentally strong as they come."

Vasin stole the show in his singles match. The junior controlled his emotions down the stretch and countered midshipman Jason Hill's jeering with fast serves and quick volleys en route to a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win.

"I was really proud of the way he handled himself after falling behind," DeVore said. "Last year . he would have probably faded away mentally because he didn't have the belief in himself . He's a fierce competitor and has a hard time missing - he is a perfectionist."

With his teammates literally at his side - some standing on the vacant neighboring court - Vasin, according to DeVore "decided he wanted to fight for it" and held off his opponent's resurgence in the third set.

Freshmen Jason Lin and Phil Law - two thirds of DeVore's first recruiting class - defeated their opponents in straight sets.

Law, a top recruit from Canada, has battled a shoulder injury in the past and grimaced during parts of his match.

"He's going to get an MRI and have it checked out just to be safe," DeVore said. "He's going easy on his serve as a precautionary measure."

Law isn't the only Penn player hurting. Roth rolled his ankle during his singles match, senior Jonathan Boym is working through a shoulder injury and Adam Schwartz is out with a head injury.

Roth isn't too worried, though.

Everyone has nicks going through the season, but I don't think there is anything major that is going to affect us once the Ivy League season rolls around," he said.

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