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Individuals shine at Cornell for W. Track

Depleted by injuries and with limited travel numbers, the Penn women's track team justified its long trip to Ithaca, N.Y., with several outstanding individual performances this weekend, despite a 93-52 loss to Cornell. Runners Jeraldine Cofie (appendicitis), Kiki Snooks (hamstring) and Petra Stewart (broken hand) were all unable to compete, and so the Red and Blue could not send anybody out for the 200- or the 400-meter dash. In addition, the Quakers were forced to field less than their best in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. But in spite of these shortcomings, the Quakers ran away with a number of first-place finishes and personal bests. "We had the kids doing a really nice job, even though we weren't all healthy," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "We had a busload of our kids who went out there and did the job that they had to do." Getting the job done for Penn, as she has all year, was senior Bassey Adjah, who took first in the long jump and set a new school record in the 100 (11.9 seconds). "Bassey was just out of her mind again," Tenisci said. "She continued to dominate." Also maintaining their dominance for Penn were senior co-captain JaJuan Gair, who won the 100 hurdles in 14.1 seconds, and freshman Caroline Rebello, who took her second consecutive first-place finish in the pole vault. "The conditions weren't that great to jump in because the winds were going every which way," Rebello said. "But we got the points for the team, which is all that matters." Crystal Marsh's 1:04.2 in the 400 hurdles and Julie Siebert-Johnson's 41.22-meter javelin toss were also good for first place this weekend. Additionally, co-captain Monica Maccani bested a long-standing school record with a 149'2" discus throw. This marked a nearly four-foot improvement over the old standard of 145'7". Maccani was pleased with her performance -- "It's something I've been focused on" -- but was even more impressed with the way the team responded in the face of adversity. "Even though we didn't win, the team unity was there, which is a big thing for me as I get ready to finish my senior year," Maccani said. Though the Quakers lost by a sizeable margin, their strong performances and the chance to rehab some injuries proved to be more important than winning the meet. "It's a week before Relays and we have some kids who aren't 100 percent that we have to look after," Tenisci said. "To risk them in a dual meet which doesn't mean anything when it comes to the championship -- it just doesn't make any sense." Thinking ahead and resting some injured athletes may have cost the Quakers a victory, but the positives reaped from the meet far outweighed any score. "You have to be pragmatic as a coach, and we had some key people hurt. To heck with the score," Tenisci said. "When you see the kids that did well, that's more important than the score. We really came out of there with some incredible performances." As the Red and Blue gear up for the carnival atmosphere of the Penn Relays and ultimately the Heptagonal championships, the score from last weekend in Ithaca will be erased and only the outstanding individual placements will linger in their collective memory. "We had a very impressive weekend, but the score doesn't show it," Tenisci said. "But that strong showing is what really should be highlighted."

W. Track to race in warm N.C. weather

For the past four years, the Penn women's track team has looked forward to the Raleigh Relays as both a chance to get some fun in the sun and a chance to compete in a warm-weather climate for the first time. Unfortunately, only the latter will be possible this weekend, as rain is forecast throughout North Carolina for the duration of the meet. The opportunity to get out of Franklin Field and into the warmer, if wetter, climate at N.C. State should be helpful. "It's at least 10 degrees warmer than it is here," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "Getting some warm weather in our bones will make us feel good and make us want to go fast." Pushing the Quakers to go faster as well will be the tough competition at the Raleigh Relays. At the meet, the Quakers will see the likes of host N.C. State, North Carolina, South Carolina and a number of other top-notch schools from below the Mason-Dixon line. "We're going to run against some really good speed," Tenisci said. "It's good to expose our kids to this type of carnival, and it gives them an opportunity to run with some of the best people in the East." In addition to warmer weather and good competition, the Red and Blue can expect at least one great in the audience -- Olympic star Marion Jones is expected to be on hand for the festivities at her home training site. More important than the hoopla, the weather or the competition, however, will be the opportunity to prepare for a hectic April. "It goes very quick now," Tenisci said. "We have one meet at home after this, then at Princeton, then Cornell, then Relays -- and boom, boom, there it is." The trip south will also feature the return of co-captain JaJuan Gair in full force. Gair has been sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered during the indoor season. She is expected to debut in the hurdles at Raleigh. "I'm really excited about the opportunity for her to have the chance to hurdle again," Tenisci said. "She's looking very, very good right now." In addition to Gair's return, the Quakers are optimistic that senior Bassey Adjah can build on her two first-place finishes -- in the 100-meter high hurdles and long jump -- at last week's Quaker Invitational. In the field events, Penn has a good chance to excel in the warm weather climate, though the rain may interfere and hinder their performance. "If it's rainy, and it gets slippery, it's just going to be hard to compete," Penn co-captain Monica Maccani said. The key players in this weekend's throwing events figure to be freshman Kai Ivory and Maccani, who is reaping the benefits of an unorthodox spring workout that included boxing and jumping rope. As the Quakers continue to progress toward midseason shape, trips like this become more and more important in terms of preparation for the Penn Relays and, ultimately, the Heptagonal Championships. "The kids are feeling pretty good, they're getting all the kinks out," Tenisci said. "Now it's time to rock and roll."

Two consecutive winning seasons? W. Crew hopes so

The Penn women's crew team made great strides last spring, finishing with a 6-4 record. But even though that record was the first winning season for the Quakers since 1990, Penn coach Barb Kirch believes her crew is poised for further improvement. "We did very well last season.... Winning races like the Cornell-Rutgers race for the first time in nine years was huge to everybody," Kirch said. "We won more than we lost and that was a great feeling." But a fast finish has raised expectations for Kirch and company. "We were beating crews at Eastern sprints that had beaten us midseason, so we're getting better right till the last day and I think everyone feels very good...." Kirch said. "And I think people are even a little more excited about this year." This season will consist of four home races and two away races, including the EAWRC sprints. Co-captain Becky Riley sees the large number of home races as a big plus for the Quakers. "That's a huge advantage for rowing," Riley said. "The Schuylkill River isn't a perfectly straight course and so the home advantage is big." Besides the championships, a key meet for Penn will be the Zurich Rowing World Cup, which will be held on April 27-28 in Mercer County, N.J. The International Rowing Federation, FISA is hosting the World Cup. It's the first time the event has ever been in the United States. All the varsity crews in the country racing on the same weekend have been invited to hold their races at the event. The Red and Blue's varsity team will not only have the opportunity to test themselves against other college crews but international crews from around the world, as well. In preparation for the vigorous upcoming season, the Quakers have altered their training regimen. During the winter, there was more emphasis on erging and power lifting and less on running and swimming.

W. Track falls short at ECACs

The Reggie Lewis Center in Boston played host to the top track programs in the east last weekend at ECACs. The stringent qualifying marks only allowed the Quakers three entrants, and they were able to muster just one scoring point for the meet. Senior Yinka Orafidiya, who was throwing the weight for the last time in her career, finished on a strong note by breaking her own school record with a 54'7.5" toss. "It was a good throw, but I felt like I may have had just a little bit more in me," Orafidiya said. All that she could manage on this day was still good enough for a 10th place finish, a new school record and the Red and Blue's lone tally. "I was real disappointed with my performance at Heps," Orafidiya said. "I just wanted to muster up some kind of redemption." Joining Orafidiya in Boston was fellow senior Bassey Adjah and freshman Caroline Rebello. Rebello had a disappointing vault in her last indoor meet of the season. She was able to clear the 10'10" opening height but failed to advance any higher than that. "It was alright. I could have done much better," Rebello said. "But it is the end of my first indoor season, and I'm looking forward to getting outside." Adjah, the senior stalwart, also failed to meet her own expectations at ECACs. Adjah qualified for two events, but was unable to compete in the pentathlon after a grueling third-place performance at Heps. In the long jump, she recorded an 18'2.5". The leap was a foot and change short of her best mark. "I fouled a lot and I may have just been trying too hard on my run-ups," she said. "It really just wasn't my day." Though the finale of the indoor season was a disappointment, the Quakers are looking forward to getting back on Franklin Field for the outdoor season. "We didn't get it all together at the very end of the season," Rebello said. "But I'm more of an outdoors kid. I think everyone's really looking forward to moving out there."

Gymnastics unable to defend title

For the first time in five years, the Penn gymnastics team played the bridesmaid at the Ivy Championships. Competing against Yale, Cornell and Brown, the Quakers were unable to defend their title, taking second behind the host Elis. Though the Quakers were defeated by Yale for the second time this season, the team's second-place finish was a satisfying performance for an injury-hampered squad. "Clearly Yale was the better team on that day," Penn coach Tom Kovic said. "But considering the circumstances, I think the team stepped up and really did a good job." The Red and Blue's 190.475 was their second-highest total of the season and included school records in the team vault and an individual vault record for freshman Anna Wilson (9.850). The floor exercises proved to be a strong suit for the Quakers yet again, as they managed a 47.875 in their first event. Meaghan Sanders led the way with a score of 9.725. After the vault and the floor, the Quakers trailed Yale by just .575 -- 96.325 to 95.750. The opportunity to avenge the earlier defeat suffered in January at the hands of the Elis was definitely in sight. "After two rotations it was really, really close," Penn tri-captain Kelly Haberer said. "We were still sure that we had a chance." The 25th anniversary Ivy Championship was neck and neck until Penn got on the bars. There, the Red and Blue were only able to muster a 46.65. Though a decent score for one of the Quakers weaker events, it was not enough to keep pace with Yale. In their third rotation, the floor, the Elis began to pull away with a 48.50. "After our third rotation, we knew we were quite a ways behind them. We didn't do really bad [on the bars], just really bad in comparison to what Yale did," Haberer said. "And we knew we were quite a ways behind then." The Quakers had indeed slipped too far back to catch up. Yale only added to its insurmountable lead with a 48.325 on the vault. In their final event, the Penn beam performers posted an outstanding, but not quite good enough, 48.075. Jenn Capasso added to the total with a personal best score of 9.850. Unfortunately for the Quakers, even some of their best performances weren't enough to displace the strong home team in New Haven, Conn. "Yale's a very deep, deep team," Kovic said. "And we knew from what we had seen in Philadelphia that this was going to be a formidable challenge." Though that challenge proved to be too daunting, their stellar performances left the Red and Blue excited about the remainder of the season and the chance to face Yale again at the ECAC Championships. "This performance is definitely one that is really etched in my mind. The girls really went out there and did a great job," Kovic said. "But this great meet was basically just a stepping stone." Though Kovic and Haberer both expressed disappointment at the team's failure to capture an illustrious fifth consecutive Ivy title, the possibility of beating Yale at the ECACs with a healthy squad proved reassuring. "We're hoping to get 'em back at our conference meet," Haberer said. "We'll have a couple of people back and we should be ready to go." After this weekend, the Quakers will have an extra dose of motivation going into ECACs. "I think that's our No. 1 goal right now -- to go in there at ECACs and beat Yale," Haberer said. "It gives everyone a determination and a reason to work harder."

Gymnastics searches for fifth straight title

The Penn gymnastics team faces its biggest challenge of the season when it heads to New Haven this Saturday for the Ivy Championships. Though only Penn, Cornell and Brown will be joining host Yale, the meet figures to be intensely competitive among the four Ivy schools with gymnastics programs. "Any team could win this thing," Penn sophomore Meaghan Sanders said. "The way it's set up, [regular season] records are thrown out the window, and whoever comes up with the best all-around score is Ivy [champion]." The Quakers have already handily defeated Brown and Cornell in dual meets this season, topping their Ivy foes by 3.225 and 5.55 points, respectively. It is the Elis, however, that seem to be giving the Quakers fits. Early in the season and facing an injury-depleted Penn squad, Yale came into Hutchinson Gymnasium and dominated the Quakers, 190.450 to 186.625. "Yale pretty much beat the pants off of us," Sanders said. "It was an all-out spanking." Though Brown and Cornell have each been beaten by the Red and Blue this year, the Quakers expect both to be in the thick of things at the championships. "If they do awesome and we do poorly, anyone could win," Sanders said. "It's just going to come down to who hits." In all likelihood, the meet will probably come down to Yale and the Quakers. In addition to the early season blow dealt to Penn, the Elis generated a substantial amount of bulletin board material after their victory. "Deep down we knew that we were the better team," sophomore Andrea Wolf of Yale told the Yale Daily News after the victory. "Now they know it too. We're the team to beat." This type of comment only provides fodder for an already hungry Penn team. "We have such a big rivalry with Yale, especially after they beat us," Penn tri-captain Jenn Capasso said. "I think everyone wants this so bad. "We really want to go in there and show them what we're capable of." But despite Yale's stoking the Quakers' fire, the fact remains that the four-time defending Ivy champs have their work cut out for them. "It really comes down to who hits," Capasso reiterated. "The main thing that works in our favor is that we're usually able to really put it together and compete at our best for the championship meet." The Saturday meet figures to come down to the last event for both Yale and Penn. Due to the logistics of the rotation, the Quakers will be on the balance beam for the final event, which figures to work in the team's favor. "Historically, beam has been one of our strongest events," Capasso said, "and it looks like our best chance to make up ground on Yale." Yale, on the other hand, will finish on the vault, which is not their forte. Though the potentially hostile crowd and foreign equipment may hinder the Quakers, if Penn's gymnasts are able to hang in there through the bar, vault and floor exercises, they have a good chance of finishing strong on the beam and wrapping up their fifth consecutive Ivy title.

W. Track runs away with unscored meet

The Penn women's track team's unexpected move from Cornell to Bucknell last weekend proved to be extremely beneficial. In the unscored meet that pitted Penn against the host Bison, along with Swarthmore, Duquesne, Mt. St. Mary's and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the Quakers saw a number of positives. "I think the team performance was pretty strong," Penn sophomore jumper Meredith Bunche said. "As a whole we did really well." Bunche herself was one of the strongest competitors, as she did well in the long jump and took first in the triple jump, albeit with a shaky performance. "I ended up winning, because the competition wasn't that strong, but it really wasn't my best performance," Bunche noted of her victory. Bunche had recorded personal bests in the triple jump in her last two meets, but slipped almost three inches to 37'9.5" in Lewisburg, Pa. "I wasn't that happy with my performance," Bunche said. "I had two good weekends in a row and then I completely reverted back to something bad." Her personal disappointment notwithstanding, Bunche's first-place finish was a bright spot for the Quakers, who had a number of top finishers. Senior Bassey Adjah captured top honors in both the 55-meter hurdles (8.34) and the long jump (5.40m). "Bassey had a good overall meet," Penn co-captain Monica Maccani said. "But then she always does -- she's a real strong athlete." As with Adjah, fellow senior Yinka Orafidiya continued to shine for the Red and Blue. Orafidiya finished second in the shot put with a 40'8" and captured first in the weight (53'2.25"). All three of Penn's regular throwers -- Orafidiya, Maccani and Tonia Sabino -- finished in the top six of a competitive 42-person shot put field. The Quakers also had three more first-place finishers -- their 4x400 relay team, Mercy Okoye in the 800, and Samantha Desposito in the 1,600. The success of the Bucknell meet will hopefully carry over to this weekend's trip to the George Mason invitational. Both meets, however, are merely preparation for the season's pinnacle -- the Heptagonal Championships. "This weekend is going to be a good meet." Maccani said. "And it should be good finishing us up preparing for Heps." Though it may be unreasonable for the Quakers to expect similar placement results this weekend, Maccani has a good feeling about her team's current status. "We're on the right track for the championship meet," she said. "We're right where we need to be right now. I'm sure we'll be able to give 'em a run for their money at Heps."

W. Track defeats Tigers

The Penn women's track team came away from this weekend's dual meet at Princeton with a clear sense of where they stood in the Ivy League pack. Though the Quakers were unable to compete with Penn State, who won the meet, the Red and Blue achieved what they set out to do at Jadwin Gymnasium. "Our main objective was to compete with our Ivy rival," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. "And we did just that and had some incredible performances along the way." In the hotly contested meet, Penn finished with 92 points, 10 ahead of Princeton. Penn State had 136 points. Leading the way for the Quakers was senior Bassey Adjah, whom Tenisci called a "bright shining star that day." Adjah finished second, behind only runners from Penn State, in the 4x400-meter relay and the 55 hurdles. Her time of 8.27 seconds in the hurdles was one-hundredth of a second ahead of teammate JaJuan Gair, who took third. Adjah's biggest performance, however, came in the long jump, where her mark of 19'4.5" shattered a school record that had stood for 17 years. Former Penn standout and 1984 Olympian Joan PhengLaOr's previous mark of 19'4.25" was one of Penn's longest-standing records. "She took that record out of the books, which I think was long overdue," Tenisci said. In addition to Adjah's record-breaking day, Penn had a number of competitors who turned in personal bests at the Princeton meet. Junior Samantha Desposito's 5:06 mile was a personal record and good enough for second place. Sophomore Meredith Bunche broke her own personal best from last weekend with a 40'3/4" triple jump. Freshman Tonia Sabino threw a personal best 13.79 meters with the 20-pound weight, good enough for third. Senior Yinka Orafidiya finished second in the weight and third in the shot. Princeton, which was plagued by injuries, was still able to put up a good fight. "We had a bunch of people with injuries," Princeton high jumper Becca Desman said, "so we were operating with not everybody there." Despite the depleted Princeton squad, the victory was more than just pyrrhic for Penn, as it gives the team confidence heading into the Heptagonal Championships, which will be held February 24-25 in Boston. At Heps, Penn will get a chance to face the Tigers again. "A win is a win is a win." Tenisci said of the Quakers victory. "It's always sweet to go into Jadwin and spank 'em." The lone negative from the weekend was the minor hamstring injury suffered by co-captain JaJuan Gair. After placing third in the hurdles, Gair hopped back on the track for the 55 dash. She pulled up lame at the finish line, and early tests shed no light on the severity of the pull. Tenisci hopes his star will be back in form for next weekend's meet at Cornell. "We're not sure what the long-term prognosis is," Tenisci said. "But [Gair] had a great meet for us and we hope to see more of that."

Weekend results disappoint W. Track

Going into the Penn State National meet, the Penn women's track team knew that the weekend would serve as a litmus test for their progress thus far. Unfortunately for the Quakers, the results of that test were less than satisfactory. "We're not really where we need to be right now," Penn co-captain Monica Maccani said. The field of 54 teams had a drastically different look than the field in most of the other meets the Quakers have attended. The Penn State Invitational featured tougher competition -- including UCLA, the top-ranked collegiate team in the nation. Penn was disheartened by the fact that it was not able to compete with the perennial powers, but the Quakers were even more disheartened by the poor times they posted. "It [the meet] gave us a little wake-up call in terms of training," Maccani said. "We need to train a little harder if we're going to be able to compete at Heps." Teams like Princeton and Navy, who compete against the Quakers at Heps and the ECACs, fared better against the tough competition. Princeton posted a faster time than Penn in the 4x400 relay, despite the fact that the Quakers' relay team ran their best race of the year. The poor showings in many of the events should encourage the Red and Blue to train harder in preparation for the end-of-year meets. "Some of the girls really need to step it up," Maccani said. "We talked about it this weekend and now we know what we have to do." But there were some non-motivational positives that came out of the weekend meet. Many of the Penn runners were given their first opportunity to compete on a banked track similar to the one at Harvard, where both the ECACs and Heps will be held this indoor season. There were also a few strong individual performances, including Meredith Bunche's personal-best triple jump of 38'7.5". "I've been jumping well all season, but all of my best jumps have been fouls," Bunche said. "It was really nice and a real relief to finally get a measured jump that was good." The heightened level of competition, while preventing the Quakers from placing highly, spurred some members of the Penn women's track team to better performances. "Competing against big schools like North Carolina and UCLA that we don't usually compete against definitely makes you want to step up and compete with them," Bunche said. Meeting this challenge ably was the distance medley relay team of Caitlin Driscoll, Samantha Desposito, Mercy Okoye and Alexandra Bliss. The quartet finished in a solid time of 12:08.

Strong individual showings place W. Track third in Ithaca

In a lackluster team performance, the Penn women's track team earned a third-place finish this weekend while competing at the Cornell Invitational. The Quakers placed behind the host Big Red and Buffalo in the six-team competition. Though the third-place finish did not meet the Quakers' expectations, assistant coach Tony Tenisci witnessed some strong individual efforts that left him feeling confident about the team's chances as they head toward the homestretch of the indoor season. "We had some nice performances," Tenisci said. "Now we have to pace this and continue it so we're ready for championships at the end of February." Once again, Penn's seniors were key in the meet. Co-captain JaJuan Gair finished first in the 60-meter high hurdles with a time of 9.03 and fellow senior Bassey Adjah led all scorers in the pentathlon with a personal record of 3,493 points. Adjah also finished second in the long jump. In the throwing events, senior Yinka Orafidiya tossed a school-record 54'6" weight and also placed second in the shotput. "Our seniors are wonderful leaders," Tenisci said. "They're really just getting out and showing the young kids how to do it." The instruction by example seems to be paying off, as a number of freshmen impressed at Cornell, vaulting the Quakers over Colgate, Ithaca College and St. Joseph's. Freshmen Michele Hart, Grace Malone and Kai Ivory -- who all scored over 3,000 points -- placed fourth, fifth, and sixth behind Adjah in the pentathlon. All three freshmen were participating in the event for the first time. "These freshmen really did one hell of a job," Tenisci said. "Especially when you consider it was the first time putting those five events together." Caroline Robello, also a first-year, topped all pole vaulters with a personal best of 10'11.75". It was the second weekend in a row that Robello finished in the top spot in the vault. Though the team did not finish in first place, Tenisci is tickled with the recent performance and optimistic about upcoming events. "They really competed very well," Tenisci said. "This is a special group of kids." The Quakers face an important challenge ahead in this weekend's invitational at Penn State. The two-day extravaganza will test the Quakers against some of the best the country has to offer. Though the competition will be at a higher level than most of the Red and Blue's other meets, Tenisci is excited about the team's chances. "It's like the Penn Relays indoors," Tenisci said. "As always, we'll do our best and hopefully we'll get some good times and some good performances, and the placing will take care of itself."

Quick start out of the blocks for W. Track

The women's track team traveled to Brown last weekend to begin its indoor season. Although the Quakers only managed to win two events at the meet, Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci was enthusiastic about his team's performance. "We were much better than last year at this time," Tenisci said. "We had some very, very nice performances." Although Tenisci would be hard-pressed to expect anything but improvement from a team that finished dead last at Heps last year, he was elated to see that there was marked improvement across all events. "We threw better, we jumped better, we ran better... we were just real pleased with everybody," Tenisci said. Though Penn's assistant coach heaped praise on the team as a whole, there were some individual Quakers who really stood out above the rest. Senior co-captain JaJuan Gair took second in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8:23 seconds. Gair followed up that performance with another second-place finish in the 55-meter dash after only five minutes of down time between events. Asked if he was concerned about Gair's ability to perform with such a quick turnaround, Tenisci unflinchingly answered, "Absolutely not." "She was probably just the most impressive athlete in the group," Tenisci said. "She always leads by exampl. Always And that doesn't go unnoticed." The freshmen who were competing for the first time certainly took note of Gair's resilience. In her first ever collegiate event, Megan Scanlon took one of the Red and Blue's two first-place finishes by wining the 300 dash with a time of 48:24. Though no other freshmen placed near the top of their events, Tenisci was still surprised at the level of maturity and skill that the young Quakers exhibited in Providence. "We have an infusion of freshmen talent and they bring all of their energy to it and are a real boost to the team," Tenisci said. A number of upperclassmen also left a favorable impression from the Alden invitational. Junior Jeraldine Cofie was the Quakers lone other event-winner. With a 1:17.65 in the 500-meter race, Cofie recorded a time that was just 1.47 seconds off the school record. Sophomores Crystal Marsh and Alex Bliss also placed high in the 500, finishing second and fourth, respectively. Though Marsh and Bliss posted good times, they never had a chance at Cofie, who paced the field wire to wire. "She led the whole race," Tenisci said. "After the first 100 meters she just took off and that was it." Seniors Bassey Adjah and Kiki Snooks also finished close seconds in their respective events. Snook missed the 400-meter crown by just a tenth of a second, and Adjah's jump of 18'06.50" was half and inch off the mark of UConn's Kaki Davis. The Red and Blue also turned in strong performances in the throwing events. Yinka Orafidya had a shot put of 41' 3 1/4" and freshman Tonia Sabino finished eighth in the same event. Tenisci was extremely pleased with the way the talented freshmen have come along under the tutelage of the veterans. "Our kids have just matured so much... and our older kids are just doing a nice job of leading the new ones," Tenisci said. If the exemplary leadership continues to help bring along the freshmen, the Quakers should only get better as they head to Princeton this weekend. Tenisci hopes the Red and Blue can improve on the strong performance they put in at Brown this weekend and erase some of the ghosts from last year's disappointing season. "Sometimes you have to go to the bottom to realize that's not where you want to be." Tenisci said. "I hope that this meet just sets the tone for the rest of the year."

W. Track set to climb Heps ladder

As the Penn women's track team opens its indoor season at Brown this weekend, an optimism uncharacteristic of a squad that finished last at indoor Heptagonals a year ago abounds. "Last year, we had a lot of holes in a lot of events," senior sprinter and hurdler Bassey Adjah said. "This year we're more balanced, and we have a lot more talent in each of the events. We should do very, very well." Helping to fill these gaps will be a strong group of freshmen that is not only talented but appears to be jelling as a unit. "This group of freshmen has a chance to rise together," junior pole vaulter Liz Wittels said. "Not only are they good, but they really like each other and they really push each other." Though it is always dangerous to rely on freshmen to fill voids, the dedication this group showed by starting workouts a full week before the rest of the team left a favorable impression on co-captain Monica Maccani. "Given their talent and seeing the support they give one another, they'll do really well and help the team out a lot," Maccani said. In addition to the potential impact of the freshmen, the Quakers return a number of veterans who were forced to shoulder the load for a very young team last year. Co-captain JaJuan Gair, along with Adjah, will once again lead a pack of sprinters that looks much improved from last year. Gair and Adjah will also be looked to in the hurdles, where Gair hopes to build upon a performance that earned her All-East honors at the ECAC Championships. "JaJuan's a great athlete, a really superb athlete," Maccani said. "And she's a great leader by example." Maccani hopes to provide the same type of leadership for a throwing corps that has consisted of mostly freshmen or first-time throwers during the indoor season. Because of the space limitations imposed by an indoor fieldhouse, the Red and Blue will be without the spectacular javelin throwing of Maccani and school-record-holder Julie Siebert-Johnson. The Quakers will look to junior Katie Shannon and a few of the newcomers to pick up the slack for the temporary absence of Siebert-Johnson. Pole vaulting should be another bright spot for the Quakers. Wittels broke the school indoor mark last year with an 11'6 3/4" vault and hopes to improve on that impressive mark. Along with senior Ami Desai, Wittels leads a formidable group of vaulters. "We should have a strong pole vaulting team," Maccani said. "They can really help us out as a team." Senior Jennifer Thompson and sophomore Meredith Bunche will be strong supplements to a jumping squad that boasts the 1999 Heptagonal long jump champion in Bassey Adjah. Though much of this lineup is the same from last year's disappointing indoor squad, hope stems from the belief that this year's Quakers team is stronger, faster and better-conditioned than the previous version. "We're working harder this year. Our lifting regimen is more intense, and everyone seems a lot more dedicated and into it," Adjah said. "I think everyone knows that we have the potential to be very good this year, and they don't want to be left out, so everyone wants to do their little part." Wittels attributes the better condition of the team to dedication and an intense regimen that includes hill training, weight lifting and an abundance of good old-fashioned running that often leaves members of the team without their lunch. "Our freshmen are in awesome shape -- we're all in much better shape," Wittels said. "Last year we were really out of shape and it hurt us." The extra conditioning and the influx of talented freshmen should be enough to put the Red and Blue closer to contention for the Heptagonal Championships. This Saturday's meet at Brown should be a good indication of how the Quakers will fare against some of their Ivy League foes. "We'd like to get some good marks at Brown because we have to show what we can do in the indoor season," Maccani said. With freshmen pushing already strong upperclassmen, the Quakers have high hopes. "If the freshmen can rise together, and you put that with the depth that we already had, we're gonna be really good," Wittels said.

W. Tennis frosh playing fearlessly

As the fall season comes to a close for the Penn women's tennis team, a group of freshmen has reinvigorated a squad that appeared to be weakened by the loss of its top two players and both captains. Thus far, Sanela Kunovac, Nikky Ptak and Rachel Shweky have played with a composure that belies their youth and inexperience. "We've all kind of clicked together, and though we're still adjusting, we've been able to help the team out a little bit," Kunovac said. That little bit has included a trip to the semifinals for Kunovac in the Cissie Leary Invitational, a perfect 4-0 singles weekend for Ptak at the ECAC Championships and consistently strong doubles play by the tandem of Shweky and Ptak. In addition to the success she has had so far, Kunovac gives the Quakers something they haven't had in a number of years -- a legitimate No. 1. "When you look at our roster, you see a bunch of girls who are pretty evenly matched," co-captain Jolene Sloat said. "But when you see Sanela, she's just a cut above. She's our No. 1." Kunovac brings an unshakeable confidence and a robust bag of tricks to the court every time out. "She's such a a smart, tough player, and she has so many shots she can beat you with," Sloat added. "She's a No. 1 that could do really really well in the Ivies this year." Penn coach Mike Dowd echoed Sloat's sentiments regarding the perspicacity and mental fortitude of the young Quaker. "Sanela's mental game is definitely her strength. She's so smart and she's totally fearless," Dowd said. "She's gonna be very tough to beat." Kunovac has also teamed with Rochelle Raiss at No. 1 doubles. The formidable pair has meshed quickly despite very different styles of play. "We have such different games, but we complement each other really well," Raiss said. The duo will take its show on the road this weekend at the ITA Regionals at William & Mary. The tandem of Shweky and Ptak will join them in Williamsburg, Va., as they received an at-large bid to the tournament. In addition to representing the Red and Blue in doubles, Ptak and Kunovac will also play singles. Though Ptak was not as highly touted a recruit as her Bosnian counterpart, her invitation to the tournament was met with no surprise by Dowd. "I wasn't sure how good Nikky was going to be coming in," Dowd said. "But her record and her performance in the fall have definitely opened some eyes and earned her a spot in this tournament." That record has been nearly spotless in singles play. After losing two matches in her first collegiate tournament, the only loss Ptak has suffered was to teammate Kunovac in the Cissie Leary tournament. "She's beaten some top players and she keeps improving every time she plays," Dowd said. "When I recruited her, I thought she might be a diamond in the rough, but I never could have expected this." The play of Shweky, Ptak and Kunovac has convinced Sloat that the Quakers will break out of their role as perennial Ivy bridesmaids. "The three of them are definitely what we need to finally win the Ivies," Sloat said.

Success for W. Tennis at ECACs in Princeton

Despite a finals loss to a Virginia squad that he described as "beatable," Penn women's tennis coach Mike Dowd took nothing but positives from his team's trip to Princeton for the ECACs this past weekend. "We had a great weekend at Princeton," Dowd said. "And we're only getting better." The Quakers were riding high coming into this past weekend after a number of strong individual performances at the Brown Invitational two weeks ago. They carried that momentum into a first-round 7-0 drubbing of Georgetown that saw the hapless Hoyas fail to win a single set. Penn followed that up with another shutout of James Madison and appeared to be on cruise control heading into the semifinals. After rolling over their first two opponents, Dowd and his team started to believe they had a chance to claim the ECAC championship. "I thought, hey we're playing pretty well; we've got a good chance to win this thing," Dowd said. Impeding the progress of the Quakers juggernaut was host and No. 1 seed Princeton. The semifinal match against the Tigers took on significance beyond this immediate tournament. The past three times Penn and Princeton have faced off in the ECACs, the winner has gone on to win the regular season match-up in the spring as well. Things did not look good for the Red and Blue after losing the doubles point and the top two singles matches. The Quakers responded gamely, however, winning the next four matches. The last of these was a three-set victory by co-captain Jolene Sloat over Jackie Arcario, 5-6 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4. "Everyone else was done, and I was down 1-3 in the third, but hearing all of my teammates cheer for me really motivated me to come back and win the match," Sloat said. The upset advanced Penn to the finals to face No. 3 seed Virginia. The Cavaliers would prove to be too much to handle, eding the Quakers, 4-3. Everyone in the Red and Blue lineup was forced to play in a higher spot after Sanela Kunovac went down with an injury in her doubles match. Even after the loss, Dowd spoke in glowing terms of his team's play. "Nikki Ptak, the freshman, and Louani Bascara, for the second tournament in a row, just dominated," Dowd said. Both Bascara and Ptak went 4-0 on the weekend, with neither dropping a set through the duration of the tournament. "Everyone played great the whole weekend," Ptak said. "In our last match, we all had to step up and play a higher position, and everyone met the challenge and played really well." The strong play from the top of the lineup on down not only impressed Dowd, but it instilled a sense of confidence in the young team that will be crucial as it prepares for the spring season. "Knowing we were one match away from winning the tournament, especially without Sanela, now we know we can beat anybody," Ptak said. The Quakers will have one more chance to display their mettle November 3-7 in the ITA individual tournament at William and Mary. No matter the individual outcome in the last fall tournament, the team victory over Princeton put a great final touch on team play for the season. In addition, it may have put the Quakers in the driver's seat for the Ivy League season. "We were the last Ivy team standing, and we beat the defending Ivy champion on their court," Dowd said. "If we continue to improve and don't look back, we could be the Ivy favorites this year."

Sloat has quick learning curve

Going deep, W. Tennis gets ready

The 2000-01 season figures to be an interesting one for the Penn women's tennis team. Despite the loss of two senior captains and his top returning player, Quakers coach Michael Dowd insists that this is not a rebuilding year. The Red and Blue lost Anastasia Pozdniakova and Elana Gold to graduation last spring. The two had formed the one-two punch of a Penn team that finished 13-10 overall and a strong 5-2 in the Ivy League last season. On top of the graduation of these senior captains, the Quakers will also be without star Lenka Beranova, who left the team for personal reasons. After a strong showing at the William and Mary Invitational this past weekend, Dowd has confidence that a couple of freshmen can step in and fill the void left by these seemingly devastating losses. Dowd took only three players to Williamsburg, Va., to compete in the tournament. Freshmen Rachel Shweky, Nikky Ptak and Sanela Kunovac were given their first opportunities to compete for the Quakers. Despite having to shake off a case of the nerves in her first match, Ptak had a particularly impressive tournament, defeating top players from Richmond and Maryland, two teams who are nationally ranked ahead of Penn. Overall, Ptak was pleased with the performance of the emerging young players on her team. "We played very well considering it was our first tournament," Ptak said. "I hope that we can all become strong assets to this team." The brightest star to emerge from the courts at William and Mary was Kunovac. In her first tournament, the freshman defeated the Tribe's Delphine Troch, the No. 34-ranked player in the country. "This may be the highest ranked player a Penn player has ever beaten," Dowd said. While the historical annals can neither confirm nor deny this, one thing is sure: Kunovac is for real. "I expect Sanela to step in and play No. 1 [singles] as a freshman," Dowd said. If the stellar group of freshmen are unable to meet these lofty expectations, the Quakers have nothing to worry about. "This is the deepest team we've had in years," captain Jolene Sloat said. "It's nice to know that if anyone goes down with an injury, there are a number of girls who can step up and take her place." This depth makes it difficult to choose a lineup, but it also pushes the team harder to compete in practice. "Our team is very tight-knit, but we still go out and compete against each other every practice," Sloat said. Except for the three freshmen that Penn took to William and Mary, practice has been all the tennis that the Quakers have had this fall. Coming off a summer away from the game, conditioning and repetition are crucial to getting back into tennis shape. The Quakers hope that the hard work they have put in thus far will pay off this weekend as the Quakers host the Cissie Leary Invitational at the Levy Tennis Pavilion and the Lott Courts. The tournament, which will take place tomorrow through Sunday, will give Penn a chance to compete against some of the best teams on the East Coast. In addition to the good competition, the tournament has a special meaning for many of the players, and particularly coach Dowd. The fourth-year head coach served as an assistant under Leary during her 20-year tenure at the helm of the Penn women's tennis team before her unfortunate passing in 1996.