The Penn men’s tennis team is back on the road this weekend, and it’s in store for twice the action this time around.
After dropping their Ivy League opener to Princeton last weekend, the Quakers will travel to take on Brown on Saturday and No. 54 Yale on Sunday.
This weekend’s matches mark the first of two consecutive weekends in which the Quakers (8-6, 0-1 Ivy) will face conference opponents on back-to-back days.
As the Red and Blue progress deeper into their Ivy slate, they will continue to face quality opponents, as five of the eight Ivy squads are nationally ranked.
While Brown (11-6, 0-0) is unranked, the Quakers know that the Bears are a very talented team, and they have yet to lose at home this season.
“The match with Brown should be very close, even if they are at home and statistically the better team,” coach David Geatz said. “If we’re going to beat Brown, I think we need to win the No. 1 singles match and the No. 2 singles match.
“I think we need to win No. 5 singles also, and it would be great to steal the doubles point too.”
The Quakers are undefeated in the eight matches in which they have won the doubles point and winless in the six matches that they have dropped.
“We work on doubles all year round, every day in practice we do doubles drills, and we haven’t done anything different in practice at all this week,” Geatz said. “We’re doing the same thing we’ve been doing all year, and hopefully we’ll see some of that dedication pay off this weekend.”
After Saturday’s match in Providence, the Red and Blue will head to New Haven, Conn., where No. 54 Yale (14-3, 0-0) awaits.
Despite Yale’s outstanding record and impressive ranking, the Quakers believe that they can beat anybody after a strong week of practice.
“I think we’re prepared,” junior captain Zach Katz said. “We had a really good week of practice. Each of us has been working on preparing for doubles because that’s one thing that really needs improvement.
“I think we’re all ready for what’s to come, and it’s going to be close, but we just need to pull out a few victories.”
If all bodes well for the Red and Blue, they could return home on Sunday night with two season-defining triumphs.
“The guys always come out, and they give 100 percent every match,” Geatz said. “They fight hard and have great energy, and it’s impossible to be disappointed with that.
“Both of our matches are going to be very close, but if we can steal a few tough singles matches and hopefully grab the doubles points, we’ll finish this weekend 2-0.”
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