After splitting matches last week, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson (9-10, 6-1 NEC) before dropping the Ivy League opener to Princeton (15-2, 3-0 Ivy), the Red and Blue (10-9, 1-2 Ivy) faced an overnight turnaround on Easter weekend, falling to Dartmouth 4-1 but bounced back with a 4-1 win against Harvard.
“[The Harvard win] was really huge for us,” senior Maya Urata said. “I think this is really great for us mentally going forward into the last four matches of the season.”
Penn fell to Dartmouth in hard-fought matchup
Penn kicked off the weekend hosting Dartmouth (13-5, 2-1 Ivy) at the outdoor Hamlin Tennis Center. On a warm, sunny Saturday, the Quakers faced tough matchups across the board.
In the doubles circuit, Penn faced a team that has been nothing short of dominant. Dartmouth has won the doubles point in all but one of its matches against Ivy League opponents this season, including against Penn, which lost at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots by 6-3 scores.
In singles play, Urata made quick work of her match at the No. 4 spot, defeating Dartmouth’s Lauren Han 6-0, 6-4.
While Urata’s experience allowed her to bring the match’s total score back to 1-1, Dartmouth pulled through in three tight matches at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 spots in singles play to ultimately secure a 4-1 victory.
Penn dominated against Harvard
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Just 20 hours later, under overcast skies, the Quakers returned to the Hecht Tennis Center for a chance at redemption in Sunday’s match against the visiting Harvard Crimson (10-8, 0-3 Ivy).
After Saturday’s match, in which things did not go their way, Penn shot out of the gate to open doubles play on Sunday.
The communication between junior Esha Velaga and sophomore Lara Stojanovski could be heard just as much as it was seen with their on-court play. On several occasions, the Crimson opposition was left standing still as Velaga and Stojanovski capitalized on openings in Harvard’s positioning.
While the duo won their match with a score of 6-2, juniors Liza Tkachenko and Sasha Motlagh also earned a 6-2 win with dominant short-court play. Penn cruised to the doubles point before heading into a set of competitive singles matches.
Carrying momentum from her doubles match, Velaga took over in her first set against Harvard’s Kavya Karra and dropped just a single point for a 6-1 scoreline. And while Velaga lost 6-0 in the second set, she not only recovered, but finished with a strong 6-3 final set.
“Knowing I still have control of the match and I just need to dial it in a little bit, taking five minutes in between the sets to get back into my zone and into what I did well in the first set really helped,” Velaga said.
In what would be Penn’s only straight-set victory, freshman Joleen Saw fought through two 6-4 sets to take down Harvard’s Kate Kim at the No. 3 spot.
Velaga and Saw’s points, in tandem with the doubles point, meant Penn needed just one more win to clinch the victory. With all eyes now on her court, the Quakers’ only senior, Urata, rose to the occasion.
“For me, I thought that was a positive,” Urata said. “It creates so much of a high-energy and intense atmosphere, but I think I’m the type of player to thrive in that environment.”
Urata’s match against the Crimson’s Andra Braicu was a display of persistence on both ends. After dropping points early, Urata clawed back to take the first set 6-3. Braicu won the second set in a 6-1 turnaround.
As the crowds gathered and the pressure rose for the final set, Urata fell back into stride, taking the final set 6-2.
On an afternoon that featured Red and Blue dominance, what ultimately led Penn to its 4-1 victory was its ability to recover and finish when it mattered. On April 10 and 12, the Quakers will take on the first half of those four matches at Columbia and against Cornell, respectively.
