After getting his first Ivy League experience as a Penn tennis player last weekend - in a hard-fought, 4-3 loss at Princeton - Hicham Laalej is starting to get a feel for what it takes to battle conference competition.
"In the Ivy League it's all about who wants it more," the Morocco native said. Even though the junior saw his squad narrowly drop its last outing, he "can't see how much more [his team] could want it."
The Quakers (9-7, 0-1 Ivy) will try to take that fire into their next Ivy road challenges this weekend - today at Brown and tomorrow at Yale. But recalling the team's Ivy opener, coach Nik DeVore takes the side of his star junior, maintaining that his players showed many positive signs.
"If anything, the guys built some confidence," the second-year coach said. "We were in a hostile environment with a hundred screaming fans in our ear, with a chance to beat a nationally ranked team."
DeVore scheduled a tune-up match against Army Monday to ensure the Princeton loss would have no lingering effects. The Quakers won, 6-1.
"We wanted to get used to getting right back out there again, either recovering from a tough loss or re-focusing again after a victory," he said.
DeVore hopes his team's experience playing matches on the road with little rest will pay off this weekend. According to him, Brown (15-8, 0-0) "is a very intense team, probably the most intense in the Ivy League," with a significant home court advantage as well.
"From everything I've heard, it's a really tough place to play," DeVore said. "They've got some vocal fans out there."
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (10-5, 0-0) enter Saturday's match at No. 72 in the ITA rankings, led by senior No. 1 Jeff Dawson. No Yale player embodies the team' "scrappy" playing style more than Dawson, as DeVore described.
"He's a real grinder, a real fighter," the coach said. "I just think we need to out-fight Yale at their place and we'll have a good chance to win."
After an arduous non-league schedule, DeVore's team is peaking at the right time heading into the home stretch.
"The team's really coming together and the energy and confidence is at an all-time high," he said. "The Ivy League matches just bring something out of the guys."
Asked to describe the intensity of Ivy play, Laalej - a Stetson transfer with loads of tennis experience - summed it up best.
"I cannot explain it. It's just a different level."
