M. Tennis | Departure scars healthy win

After a heartbreaking loss to rival Princeton, the men's tennis team was able to bounce back for a convincing 6-1 win against Army at Levy Tennis Pavilion yesterday - but suffered a casualty in the process.

Junior Alex Vasin - who has had a turbulent history with coach Nik DeVore that included a leave of absence for two months last season - confirmed that he has quit the team.

Vasin's tiebreaker loss at No. 5 singles was Penn's only blemish on the day, as the Quakers dominated the inferior Black Knights by winning all three doubles matches and the other five singles matches.

After dealing with a plethora of injuries, the Quakers (9-7) were entirely healthy yesterday, which may lessen the blow of Vasin's departure.

"I think we're good," DeVore said of the team's health. "Knock on wood."

DeVore and the rest of the Penn coaching staff have been very cautious with Jonathan Boym, the star senior captain and No. 2 singles player who is rebounding from a chronic shoulder injury.

However, Boym shined against Army's Chris Albornoz, an experienced junior with great hands and fast racquethead speed. Boym defeated Albornoz 6-3, 6-3.

After Boym's match, DeVore met with him to discuss his health and his progress since "he got really pooped after the Princeton match" because he was "not match tough."

"We were debating whether to play him at all today because maybe he had to recover physically after the match, but he said he felt good."

Given Boym's long rehab throughout the year, his strong play was an especially vital sign for the team's prospects this season.

"Both of us felt like that was a really important match for him to win," DeVore said. "Jonathan needed that for his psyche after the tough loss at Princeton."

No. 1 Hicham Laalej was also able to defeat his opponent, Army's Tripp Johnson, and overcome the challenge of facing someone with a very different style of play.

"Hicham played against a tough opponent," DeVore said. "The guy hit all slice, no pace and chipped and came in a lot - that's old school tennis. . Hicham really likes to play someone who hits the ball. No one is going to out-hit him because he is just too strong, but someone who gets creative like that is a real challenge for him."

The win over Army (5-12) will help the Quakers erase the memory of the loss to Princeton and prepare for their upcoming clashes with Brown and Yale, which talented freshman Phil Law believes is especially important.

"It's always nice to win - a 'W' is a 'W,'" Law said. "It's good because the last thing we think of when we go to play Brown will be this match and not Princeton, so that will give us a little more confidence."

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