Friday’s women’s tennis match was one of firsts and lasts.
The Quakers played their first outdoor home match of the season — and their last of the nonconference schedule — in front of a large crowd at Lott Tennis Courts.
After a frustrating set of matches over spring break in which the team went 0-3, the Quakers edged Georgetown, 4-3.
But the spring break trip allowed Penn to adjust to playing outdoors.
“I don’t think my game ever feels as clean outside as it does inside,” senior captain Alexa Ely said. “But because we had the opportunity to play for a week outside in Florida during our spring break in much worse conditions, I felt confident in the fact that I would be able to adjust to the outdoor conditions.”
Ely led the Quakers (6-8) against the Hoyas (3-6), posting an 8-2 victory in the No. 1 doubles match with freshman phenom Connie Hsu and then overcoming early struggles to win her singles match, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“Although I went down quickly in score in the first set, I knew that I had the game to beat the style of player I was up against,” Ely said.
The three matches over spring break against Stetson, North Florida and James Madison reinforced the idea that playing conditions really can affect matches.
“I think we were still trying to adjust to the outdoor conditions, while also suffering from some injuries to our top six players,” Ely said.
Back healthy, the Quakers are gearing up for the open of Ivy play.
Up next is a home bout with Princeton, which currently has a 7-7 record, followed by matchups with Brown and Yale at Lott Courts.
Over the past two seasons, Penn is a combined 3-42 against their three upcoming opponents. The Quakers lost, 7-0, to all three squads during last year’s meetings, which were all on the road.
Judging by the energy around the victory on Friday, the Quakers are looking forward to their upcoming Ivy schedule.
