In a final non-conference tune-up before Ivy play starts next weekend, Penn fell to local rival Temple, 4-3.
The Quakers took the doubles point to jump out to an early lead, winning two of the three doubles matches. The No.1 doubles pair, Sol Eskenazi and Jules Rodin, showed they earned their national rank of No. 55 when they fought a tight match against the Owls’ No. 1 pairing of Rebecca Breland and Paola Calderon, 8-6. Eskenazi and Rodin are now 6-1 when they play together.
Daniela DePaoli and Alex Ion gave up just three games in their 8-3 win at No. 2, but the No. 3 pairing of Stephanie Do and Emma Whitfield fell to Jordan Batey and Alicia Doms, 8-4.
In the singles matches, Temple took four of the six contests, but often not without a fight. Only one of the Temple victories came in straight sets, when No. 6 Maame Ama Osei defeated Rodin; each of the remaining matches went to three sets.
Similarly, only one Penn singles match was won in straight sets. At No.1, Eskenazi took a decisive victory in the first set, 6-2, but had to fight for the second, 7-5. At No. 3, Alex Ion’s match went to three sets and she came out on top, winning 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. Do, at No. 2, lost in the first set, 2-6, but fought back to take the second, 6-2, and ultimately lost in the At No. 4, DePaoli won just one game in the first set, stormed back to win the second 6-2, and lost a grueling battle in the third, 5-7. Srinidhi Raghavan, at No. 5, jumped out to win her first set, 6-1, but ultimately could not maintain the lead and lost the next two, 5-7, 2-6.
The Quakers now have just over a week to prepare for Ivy League play, which begins next week when Penn takes on Princeton.
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