The Penn men’s tennis team is off to a great start, living up to high expectations after completing a 21-9 overall season last year.
The Red and Blue (2-1) opened their season with a home doubleheader against Navy (4-2) on Jan. 18. At the event, the Quakers dominated the Navy, winning all three doubles matches to start the season. The duo of senior and team captain Manfredi Graziani and junior Aaron Sandler, swept their opponents 6-0, as did freshman Vojtech Vales and sophomore Shaurya Bharadwaj.
This is not where it ended for Penn. The team also went on to win its other matches, which gave three freshmen their first singles wins of the 2026 season. It was the perfect way for the Quakers to start their season, in which they hope to capture their first Ivy League championship since 2007.
The opening weekend was only the start to a series of other competitions as they enter one of the busiest periods of the season.
The following matchup against Arkansas on Jan. 24 did not end as wonderfully as Penn would’ve hoped, as the Quakers fell 4-2 to the Razorbacks. Freshman Vojtech Vales was the sole Penn victor in the singles column, continuing his winning streak to start off a strong 2026 season.
Although the Red and Blue lost, this competitive matchup leaves a hopeful outlook on the rest of the season. The game took place at a neutral site, on Yale’s campus, as Penn was gearing up to play the Bulldogs the following day.
However, due to inclement weather which brought multiple inches of snow to the Northeast corridor, the game was postponed to Feb. 25.
The matchup between Penn and Yale is not foreign. Last season, the Quakers went undefeated against Yale with comfortable margins, playing them three separate times. It would not be shocking if Penn continued that streak this season.
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Penn will end their January schedule on the road against Liberty on Jan. 30. Liberty finished their last season with an 11-13 losing record, which included two losses to nationally ranked teams. The game against Liberty will be the first of their two final tests before Penn heads to Princeton to compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Indoor Championship from Feb. 13-15. This will prove to be an early season test for the Quakers, showing where Penn stands on a greater scale.
Even with the new freshman talent, the Red and Blue still have some ways to grow as they continue the rest of their season. Defending Ivy League champions Columbia and 2024 Ivy League champions Harvard, both of which the team lost to last season, will certainly pose a challenge to Penn.
This season is looking incredibly hopeful for the Quakers. It would be a miss not to pay attention to this stellar team, as it’s brewing up to become national champions in the not-so-distant future.
