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(12/10/93 10:00am)
There's no place like home. Whether you're talking to Dorothy or Penn women's swimming coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert, the sentiments are the same. "It's great to be at home," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "There's none of the fatigue of suffering through long bus trips. We're more comfortable here because we practice here every day. The divers are used to the boards. We'll have the support of our fans. It's especially nice to be home for such an important meet." In their opening home meet of the 1993-94 season, the Quakers (0-3) will host Columbia's Lions (0-4 Ivy, 1-4) tomorrow at noon in Gimbel Gymnasium's Sheerr Pool. From the season's outset, the Penn women have pointed toward tomorrow's contest as one of the most crucial of the year. "We've been focusing on the Columbia meet since day one," Penn assistant coach Mike Schnur said. "We have a twofold mission on Saturday. First, we want to qualify as many people as we can for Eastern championships. Then, of course, we want to win." In terms of qualifying for Easterns, swimming competitively in Sheerr Pool may actually have physical as well as psychological benefits for the Quakers. "Our pool is very fast compared to others in the league," Schnur said. "Being at home can help us [qualify]. It's a good place for us to make our cuts." Defeating Columbia, however, represents a more formidable task for Penn. Despite their dismal record, the Lions boast a number of tough swimmers at the top of their lineup, including senior Denise Ambron, an NCAA qualifier last year in the 100-yard breaststroke and 50 freestyle, and standout freshman Rachel Strong. "We're in a situation similar to Penn's," Columbia coach Diana Caskey said. "We have a small squad and we're trying to rebuild. We both have strong frontline swimmers and not a lot of depth. It ought to be a good contest the whole way through." "Columbia's a lot stronger than last year," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They've got some outstanding swimmers and they're looking to prove themselves." Nevertheless, the Quakers believe tomorrow's meet may be an excellent opportunity to earn their first dual-meet victory of the season. "We're going to go at 'em and go at 'em and go at 'em," Lawlor-Gilbert said. "We're not going to let up." "To win, it's going to take 14 girls united in purpose," Schnur said. "We're going to have to do whatever it takes to win. All of our girls are going to be swimming four events. It's going to be very difficult and very tiring. We're just going to have to step up and get crazy."
(11/23/93 10:00am)
Young Quakers look strong Sink or swim? Friday afternoon a young, undersized Penn women's swimming team set out for New Haven to answer that very question in its season opening tri-meet versus Cornell and Yale – two heavily-favored, highly-competitive Ivy League powers. The answer was resoundingly positive. "I thought we swam very well," Penn assistant coach Mike Schnur said. "We went into a hostile environment with an obviously smaller team and competed like crazy. The women saw what level they need to swim at to be competitive." Buoyed by a number of fine individual performances, the Quakers (0-2) challenged the Big Red, before dropping the team competition by an overall score of 169-120. Yale, who hasn't lost a meet in over a year, dominated both of its opponents. "We competed incredibly tough," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "We were relentless in some events." "Our upperclass women swam exceptionally well," Schnur said. "We didn't prepare to sprint but we were beating a lot of their girls in the longer events. We came on like crazy in the 200 and up." In particular, sophomore Allison Zegar turned in strong efforts in both the 500- and 1000-yard freestyle events. Sophomore Gillian Beamer was equally tough in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, as well as the 200 individual medley. Beamer finished second overall in the 200 breast (2:32.41), only four seconds behind the winner. "Allison Zegar swam very well," Schnur said. "We were thrilled with her performance. She beat all the Cornell girls. And Gillian Beamer competed like a maniac." Penn's best event, however, may have been the butterfly, where the Quakers, led by freshman Gillian Morris (1:01.86), placed second through fifth overall in the 100. Sophomore Sara Pinney also drew praise for her performance in the 200 fly. "Sarah Pinney did very well," Schnur said. "She was terrific in the 200 fly. She has a lot of potential. Before the season's finished, she's going to do a great job for us in that event." For Penn's four highly-touted freshmen, Friday's tri-meet was their first taste of collegiate competition. "I think it was shocking for some of the freshmen just being in their first collegiate dual meet," senior Eilish Byrne said. Overall, the Quakers were satisfied with the outcome of Friday's meet. "I think the team competed very well," Byrne said. "We worked very hard all through the meet just like we wanted to." According to Lawlor-Gilbert, however, there's still plenty of room for improvement. "We feel the best is yet to come," Lawlor-Gilbert said. · Today, the Penn women's swimming team travels to Princeton for an Ivy League dual meet with the rival Tigers. Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert described Princeton as perennially "very deep and very tough."
(11/19/93 10:00am)
Surfacing from a sea of controversy, the 1993-94 Penn women's swimming team is eager to dive into the new season and drown in its wake the problems of the past. That, however, may be easier said than done. Last spring, all 16 members of the 1992-93 team approached Penn Athletic Director Paul Rubincam and said that if coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert were not fired, none of them would return for the 1993-94 season. In the fall with Lawlor-Gilbert still in place, six of those women announced that they would fulfill their vow and not swim for Penn this year. Among those not returning are senior Danielle Pagano, a 1992-93 co-captain, and two school record-holders – sophomore Francesca Pagano (200-yard backstroke) and junior Lauren Lindblad (100-yard breaststroke). The walkout leaves the Quakers with an extremely small and inexperienced squad to undertake the task of improving on last year's disappointing record (1-6 Ivy League, 3-6 overall). The Penn women, however, believe an improved attitude and talented crop of underclassmen will help compensate for the departure of Pagano & Co. "I don't think [the walkout] will affect us much at all," Penn assistant coach Mike Schnur said. "I think it will affect us in a positive way. All 14 of our girls are directed and have good attitudes. They want to do the best they can." "We've come into this season with a little different attitude than last year," sophomore Ali Zegar said. "This year we want to work hard and be successful, but we also want to have a good time." With only two seniors and two juniors remaining on the team, the Quakers will rely heavily on their underclassmen to step up and contribute right away. Zegar, winner of last year's Outstanding Freshman Award, is one of the best and most versatile freestylers in the Ivy League, performing well at every distance from 100 to 1,650 yards. Freshman Gillian Morris, a Junior National qualifier in the 100 and 200 butterfly, could also make an immediate splash. In fact, Penn could get quick help from any one of its four highly-touted freshmen – Morris, Natalie Wolfinger, Emily Montes and Erin Ridge. "We have an excellent freshman class," Schnur said. "We recruited four very good swimmers." "All four of them are good enough that they could place among the top swimmers right away," Zegar said. Among the upperclassmen, senior Eilish Byrne, recipient of last year's Most Improved Award and a veteran breaststroke competitor, will be expected to provide leadership and set a positive example for the younger swimmers. In spite of the Quakers' best efforts, however, the difference in sheer numbers between Penn and its Ivy League opponents will make a dual-meet victory nearly impossible in many cases. "Obviously, depth is going to problem," Zegar said. "We're not going to get the points from the lower positions and its going to be difficult for us to compete with larger, powerhouse schools." In light of the their handicap, the Quakers have adjusted their annual goals accordingly. "From day one, we've been focusing on our meet with Columbia for the first semester and the Easterns for the second semester," Schnur said. "Depth will be a little less of a factor in those meets. We'd particularly like to improve on last year's finish at the Easterns. Since each school can only send 17 swimmers, we'll be almost even." "Every swimmer has their individual goals, also," Zegar said. "Whether it be to do well in the Easterns or improve our times or whatever." Penn will takes its first step toward accomplishing those goals today as it travels to Yale to battle Cornell and the host Elis in a season-opening tri-meet. Yale (13-0 in 1992-93) is a perennial power, led by butterfly specialist Jennifer Renzi. The weaker Big Red (6-4 last year) will rely on all-around star Helen Barfield to carry them. "We have an excellent freshman class, good leadership, and girls who give 100 percent every time out," Schnur said. "We're going to be competitive with some teams. We might even challenge Cornell."
(11/11/93 10:00am)
Like a trip to the opera, the Penn women's tennis team's 1993 fall season both began and ended on high notes. Unfortunately, however, the Quakers (3-4) also fell asleep for a few of the acts in between. "We did pretty well overall," sophomore Preety Sorathia said. "We certainly had our ups and downs all year long, but we were really pleased with the way we finished." Overall, the fall campaign saw junior No. 1 singles star Barrie Bernstein lead the team in singles victories with 11, just edging out Sorathia and junior Cori Sibley. In doubles, the No. 1 duo of Bernstein and Sorathia was nearly unstoppable in posting a 16-3 overall record. Senior co-captain Leanne Mos also proved to be a steady force all season long at No. 2 singles and doubles. Freshman Adrienne Supino was the only undefeated Quaker, posting a 3-0 singles record in limited competition. Penn opened the year with a 9-0 massacre of a badly-outclassed Swarthmore team and, as an encore, tamed the mighty Georgetown Hoyas 7-2. On the strength of their quick start, the Quakers marched into Princeton for their first individual tournament of the season – the Eastern Collegiates – and hardly skipped a beat in capturing a number of tournament honors. Bernstein and Sorathia won the tournament's Flight A doubles championship in thrilling fashion as they rallied from a three-game deficit in the second set to defeat Melissa Ruben & Bridget Mykasa of the host Tigers in the three sets. Sibley also established herself as a top notch No. 5 singles player by advancing to the finals of the Flight C singles bracket. The following weekend, however, the Quakers lapsed into a midseason slumber as they dropped consecutive matches at the ITA Team Regionals to settle for a last-place finish and saw their record drop to 2-2. "Those matches [at the ITA Team Regionals] were matches we should have won," Bernstein said. "After last year's success, we began to take winning for granted. We had to work harder." Penn briefly rebounded to crush pushover Lehigh 9-0, but the series of grueling weekend road trips and the imminent threat of midterms began to take its toll. The Quakers dropped a six-and-a-half-hour marathon match with Penn State in the final moments and fell to Temple in another close match three days later. "We could easily have beaten [Temple]," senior co-captain Suejin Kim said. "It was a match we should have won." Following the Temple match, which saw the Quakers fall below the .500 mark for the first time all season, the Penn women were treated to a nine-day hiatus through Fall Break which seemed to revive the team. In its next tournament, the ECAC's at West Virginia, Penn finished fourth in an eight-team field despite an early injury to Sibley. With Sibley, the Quakers would likely have captured second place. In addition, Sorathia earned individual honors at the ECAC's by winning her bracket in No. 3 singles, while Kim also turned in one of her best performances of the year by advancing to the finals in No. 4 singles. The year's – and perhaps the decade's – crowning achievement came in the final and most prestigious tournament of the fall season – the ITA/Rolex Northeastern Regionals hosted at Penn's Levy Pavilion. Penn's No. 1 doubles tandem of Bernstein and Sorathia advanced from a field of 48 to the tourney's semifinals, marking the furthest progress of any Penn player in recent memory – in both singles and doubles. Bernstein also had a spectacular run on the singles side by advancing into the sweet sixteen from the 96-player field. "That was a great tournament for the whole team," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "Barrie and Preety were amazing. That's the best we've ever done." The Quakers believe their success at the Northeastern Regionals has given them confidence and is only a glimpse of better things to come in the 1994 spring season. "It was definitely a good tournament to wind up the season with," Sorathia said. "It gives us momentum going into the spring. And next year we should be even better."
(11/11/93 10:00am)
It only seems fitting that the final team tournament of the fall season should follow the formula that has become all too familiar to the Penn women's tennis team over the last two months. The Quakers' journey to West Virginia last weekend for the annual Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference invitational tournament featured all of the factors that have highlighted Penn's fall season – a crop of heavyweight opponents, brilliant individual performances scattered among some less-than-brilliant efforts, and a healthy helping of adversity – all of which have ultimately earned the Quakers a spot right in the middle of the pack. In the ECAC team competition, Penn (3-4) finished fourth in the eight-team field with 17 points, 121U2 points behind tournament team champion Cornell. The ECAC uses a scoring system in which nine individual round-robin tournaments are played, six singles and three doubles, with one representative from each college competing in each tournament. Points are awarded on a graduated scale for each individual victory and added together to arrive at a team score. The Quakers suffered a severe setback early in the tournament when junior Cori Sibley was forced to retire with what Penn coach Cissie Leary termed "a stomach illness." Sibley played through the pain in her first singles match, a 6-0, 6-3 loss to Meredith Jamieson of James Madison, before declaring herself unable to continue. Penn was subsequently forced to forfeit all of Sibley's remaining No. 5 singles matches as well as all of her No. 3 doubles matches, costing the Quakers valuable team points. "We weren't really all together as a team," sophomore Preety Sorathia said. "[Junior] Barrie [Bernstein] was sick coming in and Cori got sick during her first match. We did all right considering the circumstances, but we know we could have done better." Sorathia delivered Penn's top individual performance at the ECACs, overcoming an early first-round deficit and eventually rolling to an individual tournament title at No. 3 singles. In her first-round match, Sorathia trailed George Washington's Ellen Novoseletsky 5-2 in the first set before rallying to capture the match in straight sets, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. "I didn't know it before the match started," Sorathia said, "but [Novoseletsky] is a highly regarded player nationally. Halfway through the first set, I started to play smart and set up my point really well. As the match wore on, she got more and more frustrated and I was able to pull it out." Sorathia's first match proved to be her toughest as she cruised to straight-set victories over James Madison's Renee Bousselaire, 6-2, 7-5, in the semifinals and West Virginia's Kavolina Krajewski, 6-2, 6-3, in the finals. "In the semis, [Bousselaire] hit the ball hard and wanted to dictate a fast-paced game so I just slowed the game down with lobs and forced her to play my game," Sorathia said. "I didn't have to change my game much at all in the finals. I just played steady and was able to beat her." At No. 4 singles, senior co-captain Suejin Kim also advanced to the finals with victories over West Virginia's Pam McGrath, 6-1, 6-3, and James Madison's Caroline Cox, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, before bowing out in the finals to Yale's Katherine Rhee, 6-4, 6-2. "It was a great tournament for the team because Preety and Suejin played really well and pulled out some tough matches," Bernstein said. "Recently, we haven't been getting the wins at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, but this weekend it was [senior] Leanne [Mos] and I who didn't play well and they picked us up. It's good for us because we know we can depend on everybody." In both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, the Quaker tandems won their first-round matches easily, only to be defeated by the eventual tournament champions in the semifinals. Bernstein and Sorathia beat Cornell's Smith and Itskhoki, 6-4, 6-3, before George Washington's Shafran and Ramirez handed the No. 1 duo only their second loss of the fall season, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. At No. 2, Mos and Kim cruised past Rutgers' Thayer and Tchourumoff, 6-3, 6-2, before being ousted by Craybas and Bousselaire of James Madison, 6-2, 6-0. Leary was genuinely pleased with her team's fourth-place showing against top-flight competition, in light of Sibley's forfeiture. "I think we did fine considering Cori had to forfeit and we got no points out of No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles," Leary said. "That make it tough, but we played hard. I'd say it was a good tournament for us overall."
(10/22/93 9:00am)
After suffering the "agony of defeat" in four of its last five matches, a revitalized Penn women's tennis team is primed and ready to capture its share of the "thrill of victory" this weekend in one of the fall season's most demanding tournaments – the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference invitational tournament. The Quakers (3-4) are scheduled to begin play as early as 9 a.m. this morning at the University of West Virginia's Coliseum Courts. An opponent's draw has yet to be announced. The eight-team invitational tournament will continue in a round-robin format through Sunday afternoon. "This is always a tough tournament," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "But we've played well lately and the girls should be well-rested coming off the Fall Break." Fall Break provided the Penn women with a chance to recover from the physical and mental fatigue brought on by the pressure of midterms and the effect of a series of long road matches. In recent losses to Penn State and Temple, stamina may have been the determining factor as the Quakers matched their opponents nearly point-for-point throughout both contests before losing in the final moments. Even with the boost of a weekend's rest, the Penn squad will have to be at its peak as the ECACs feature some of the top tennis talent in the East in such perennial powerhouses as Seton Hall, James Madison, Rutgers, George Washington, and the host Mountaineers, as well as two old Ivy rivals in Cornell and Yale. In addition, the Quakers have a history of difficulty at the ECACs. Last year's team marched undefeated into Rutgers before being humbled with its first loss of the year and a sixth-place finish. "We didn't play very well at the ECACs last year," senior co-captain Suejin Kim said. "But that's something we definitely think we can improve on this year." To achieve that end, Penn will need a solid overall performance, especially on the singles side where the Quakers have been unable to gain the upper hand over their last five matches. Penn will particularly look for big weekends from juniors Barrie Bernstein (No. 1) and Cori Sibley (No. 5), who have been Penn's most successful singles players to date with seven victories a piece. Sophomore Preety Sorathia has earned six victories at No. 3 singles, in spite of a personal slump over her last two matches. In doubles, the Quakers expect to continue their season-long success throughout the lineup, especially from the No. 1 tandem of Bernstein and Sorathia who are 10-1 for the fall season. "We're looking for an all-around team effort this weekend," Kim said. "It's time to get back on the winning track."
(10/13/93 9:00am)
In its last four matches, the Penn women's tennis team has proven it can play with quality opponents. Today, the Quakers have a chance to show people they can beat one. Penn (3-3) will host a tough Temple Owls squad (5-1) at 2:30 p.m. today in Penn's Levy Pavilion. After breezing through their first two matches, the Quakers have been mired in a slump recently, losing three of their last four contests. A victory over Temple would give the Penn women a shot in the arm as they head into the critical ECACs at Rutgers in two weeks. The Owls, though, won't go gently into that good night. After losing three of last year's big guns to graduation, Temple went out and found some new ammunition in the off-season to bolster its roster. "We added a lot of strength at the top this year after losing our top three seniors," Temple assistant coach David Astorino said. That strength begins with Croatian Ivana Granic, a senior transfer from Washington State who has assumed the No. 1 singles role for the Owls. Temple also scoured the junior college ranks and plucked Carmen Pruessner of Germany and Alex Rupnik of Croatia from Palm Beach Junior College to fill in at No. 2 and No. 4 respectively. Penn may be handicapped by the mental fatigue as the culmination of Sunday's six-and-half-hour marathon match against Penn State and midterms could take its toll on the Quakers. "These girls are exhausted," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "They've been on the road and it's crunch time for them academically. With the match against Penn State and studying for midterms, they've had a long weekend. Hopefully, though, they'll be able to overcome it." The Quakers believe they can. "We can beat Temple, but we need to play our game," junior Barrie Bernstein said. "We'd like to win all three doubles matches to take some pressure off ourselves in singles." Temple also identified success in the three doubles matches as a critical component of an overall victory. "Doubles are important to us," Astorino said. "We want to get out quickly because we believe we match up very well against Penn in singles." If indeed the team competition is decided on the doubles side, the Quakers may have a slight advantage, as consistency in doubles has been a fundamental strength all season long. The anchors of doubles play have been Bernstein teamed with sophomore Preety Sorathia and seniors Leanne Mos with Suejin Kim. Junior Cori Sibley and sophomore Beth Brady have also played well of late. Penn is also coming off what Leary termed "an excellent performance" on Sunday against Penn State which may lend momentum to the Quaker cause. The Owls are certainly not taking anything for granted. "We know that Penn is always solid," Astorino said. This afternoon at Levy Pavilion, Temple may find out just how solid.
(10/12/93 9:00am)
For six-and-a-half grueling hours on Sunday afternoon, the Penn women's tennis team ( battled a powerful Penn State squad (4-1) to a near deadlock at Penn's Levy Pavilion. When the smoke cleared, however, it was the Nittany Lions' heavy artillery that prevailed as the Quakers fell 6-3 to their cross-state rivals. "It was a war," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "Our girls were down early a lot, but they hung tough and showed a lot of heart. We showed them we can play." The Quakers spent most of the day digging themselves out of holes, as in eight of nine matches Penn failed to win more than two games in the first set. The Quakers, however, refused to roll over and die, coming back to win six of nine second sets and forcing tiebreakers in two of the losses. The first-set losses weren't a concern for Leary. "I told the girls it was going to be a long day coming in," Leary said. "Penn State has essentially the same team it did last year so I knew they'd be tough. We wanted to wear their girls down, like we did in doubles." Penn won two of the three doubles matches to begin the contest, a fact which surprised Penn State coach Susan Whiteside. "I give Penn a lot of credit," Whiteside said. "They played tough today. We think we're pretty good in doubles so I wasn't expecting to be down so quickly." Unfortunately for the Quakers, Penn State was even better in singles, taking five of six matches on the day. "We have two players [Olga Novikova and Tricia Lehman] who haven't lost a singles match all year," Whiteside said. "When we knew we needed to win four of the six singles matches, we had extra incentive because we lost to Penn last year at home." Junior Barrie Bernstein turned in the Quakers' best individual performance, defeating Penn State's Tammy Okins-Nguyen 0-6, 6-1, 6-2 in No. 1 singles and joining sophomore Preety Sorathia to beat Okins-Nguyen and Olga Novikova 7-5, 7-5 in No. 1 doubles for Penn's only straight-set victory. After dropping the first set of her singles match at love, Bernstein suddenly found the lines and the corners and began to wear out Okins-Nguyen by moving her around the court before closing to the net and putting each point away. "After the first set, I had to get myself back together," Bernstein said. "I lost to Tammy last year and I told myself there was no way I was going to lose to her again." Penn's other victory came in No. 3 doubles, as sophomore Beth Brady and junior Cori Sibley staged a monumental comeback to defeat the Nittany Lions' Tricia Lehman and Kim Nelson 0-6, 7-5, 6-4. Trailing 5-3 in the second set, Brady and Sibley were on the brink of elimination before they took four consecutive games to steal the second set and ultimately the match. "It took us a while to get into the match," Brady said. "It was frustrating. We started to become more aggressive in the second set and that turned it around." The team score was 4-3 in favor of Penn State with the No. 5 and 6 singles matches still in progress, creating some anxious moments for women on both sides. The Nittany Lions clinched the victory only when Andi Chiumento squeaked by Brady at No. 6 singles in a second set tiebreaker 6-1, 7-6 (11-9). The two teams may meet again on October 30 at the ITA Rolex Northeast Regional Championships hosted by Penn. The Nittany Lions dodged a bullet Sunday afternoon at Levy Pavilion. In three weeks, against a battle-tested Quaker squad, Penn State may not be so lucky.
(10/05/93 9:00am)
So much for Southern hospitality. The Penn women's tennis team was treated to a rude awakening Saturday afternoon at Virginia Tech's Burrows-Burleson Tennis Complex as the Richmond Spiders and Old Dominion Monarchs stung the Quakers 5-2 and 6-3 respectively at the ITA Team Regionals. The consecutive losses dropped Penn (2-2) from the ranks of the undefeated to those of the mediocre in a matter of hours. "What can you say?" Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "The teams were tough. They just played better than we did." "It was just one of those days," senior co-captain Leanne Mos said. "We couldn't get it together. Our first two matches were against weaker teams. This was really the first time we've been tested." It was an uphill battle all day as the Quakers were forced to fight talented opponents, windy conditions,and the fatigue of playing four consecutive individual matches. The Penn women, however, refused to make excuses. "It was definitely a long day, but we knew going in that it would be," sophomore Preety Sorathia said. "Stamina wasn't a problem. We just weren't on on Saturday. The shots just didn't go in." "Physically we were fine," Mos said. "But mentally it was a little difficult to keep our spirits up at the end of the day." One reason for Penn's poor performance might have been a change in the doubles format that was actually designed to minimize endurance problems. The ITA Team Regionals borrowed the pro-set format from men's tennis in which doubles matches are played in a single eight-game set rather than the traditional three six-game sets. This pro-set format will be used in Ivy League play this spring. For the Quakers, who were experiencing the format for the first time, the change may have done far more psychological harm than good. Penn, usually strong in doubles, won only two of six matches on the day. "People on both sides were pretty nervous," Mos said. "[With the pro-set format] you feel like you have to win every point. There's a lot more pressure. If you get down early, you feel like it's going to be difficult to come back." Mos and sophomore Preety Sorathia were two bright spots in what was an otherwise dismal day for Penn. Mos, coming off a subpar individual showing at the Eastern Regionals last weekend, won both her No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles matches against Richmond for the squad's only two victories. She defeated the Spiders' Mary Beth Lang in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) and combined with Suejin Kim for an 8-5 doubles victory. Sorathia won what Leary termed "a great match" over Old Dominion's Kristen Fulton (6-2, 6-4), an old nemesis from her days in junior tennis. "It was tough because we're both baseliners and we have similar games," Sorathia said. "It was windy so I had to play smart. I used a lot of spin and just kept the ball in play until she made a mistake." Sorathia was also up a set in her singles match against Richmond when officials stopped the contest midway through the second because the Spiders had already won the team competition. "Preety played mentally tough to the end," Mos said of her teammate. "She was impressive." Unfortunately, not all of the Quakers performed so well, particularly at the bottom of the roster, which may be cause for concern. Penn has relied thus far on its consistency in doubles and its depth as a foundation for success. At the ITA Team Regionals, against stiffer competition, both qualities were conspicuously absent. Southern hospitality may not have served Penn but maybe Saturday's losses will act as a wake-up call for the Quakers who travel to Lehigh tomorrow.
(10/01/93 9:00am)
The stakes will be high when the Penn women's tennis team travels to Virginia Tech this weekend and rolls the dice at the ITA Team Regionals. Tomorrow's tournament, to take place at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Complex, promises to be a virtual crapshoot for the eight-team field. "I think we have a shot, but it's going to be brutal," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "There's a lot of parity down there. Virginia Commonwealth, Richmond, Princeton – they all can play." Besides the three schools Leary mentioned, Penn State, Old Dominion, James Madison and the host Hokies will also be in attendance. Competition figures to be fierce as each squad will play two consecutive team matches with the overall winners earning berths to the prestigious Final Eight tournament. The Quakers are scheduled to play their first match at 9 a.m. and their second at 2 p.m. The seedings will be announced today. The Quakers (2-0) hope to weigh the odds in their favor by focusing on execution, an area where Leary feels the team has been particularly weak in the past few weeks. "We need to take advantage of the situation," Leary said. "When we have an opponent pinned on the baseline, we need to close and finish the point. We've been working on that all week in practice." "Last week [at the Eastern Regionals], I didn't execute well at the net," junior No. 1 singles player Barrie Bernstein said. "This week I hope to improve on that." One area where the Penn women have certainly improved in is health, as freshman Akiko Tokuda has almost fully recovered from a hamstring injury and will rejoin sophomore Beth Brady at No. 3 doubles. Freshman Adrienne Supino, who filled in at both singles and doubles in the season's first three weeks, is suffering from a sprained ankle, but will be available if needed. This weekend's tournament marks the first time this season that the Quakers have had their top seven healthy at the same time. Momentum may also give Penn a slight edge as the undefeated Quakers roll into Virginia in the wake of a number of fine individual performances at the Eastern Regionals last weekend. With only three weeks of experience under its belts, and a couple of strong teams waiting in the wings this weekend, Penn will use the ITAs to gauge where it stands among the elite tennis teams of the East. "This is the biggest tournament of the fall season," Leary said. "We're playing for rankings and Eastern regional status. This is huge."
(09/28/93 9:00am)
If you're a Penn women's tennis fan, a seat at Princeton's Lenz Tennis Center would have carried you on a three-day trip on an emotional roller coaster as the Quakers rolled through this weekend's Eastern Collegiates on a track fraught with jubilation and disappointment. Perched on the highest hill was the doubles tandem of junior Barrie Bernstein and sophomore Preety Sorathia, who came from behind to defeat Princeton's Melissa Ruben and Bridget Mikysa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the finals of the Flight A doubles tournament. Already down a set and trailing 4-3 in the second, Bernstein and Sorathia were on the brink of elimination when they did a little soul-searching. "We were both a little frustrated at that point," Bernstein said. "We just told each other to stay confident and maintain a good attitude." Sorathia then held serve for the only time in the match as the duo came thundering back to take the next three games and six of eight in the final set to capture the championship. For Bernstein, the excitement didn't end in the doubles bracket. Seeded No. 1 in Flight A singles, she had a legitimate shot at sweeping the doubles and singles titles in the tournament's toughest bracket. Bernstein's bid for a second tournament title, however, was halted when she ran into Syracuse's Sara Dickson in the semifinals and was forced out in a 7-5, 6-4 nailbiter. "I was a little disappointed because I didn't play as well as I could have," Bernstein said. "I wasn't consistently executing my shots, especially at the net which is a big part of my game." Bernstein's disappointment, however, was minor compared to that of senior co-captains Leanne Mos and Suejin Kim. Mos and Kim were seeded No. 1 in Flight B doubles and in search of their third-consecutive Eastern Collegiate doubles title when they stumbled out of the gate and were upset by Brown's Michelle Kupka and Maryann Kransberg 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. "Usually we have a couple of easy matches in the first couple of rounds," Kim said. "This year Brown kind of caught us by surprise. It took us a little while to get warmed up." "It was an early-season match and they just didn't play well," Penn coach Cissie Leary said. "The team from Brown was just a little more aggressive." Kim felt that Brown could afford to play loose and aggressive because they were supposed to lose while the pressure of a No. 1 seeding made she and Mos play tight. "There's more pressure being seeded No. 1 because everyone's gunning for you and they really have nothing to lose," Kim said. "I'd much rather have been seeded second or third so we could just relax and play our game." Kim's heartbreak didn't end there, however. In her three-hour quarterfinal singles match, the sixth-seeded Kim rallied to even from a 4-0 third set deficit, only to be ultimately defeated 7-5. "That [the quarterfinal loss] didn't bother me that much because I really felt I played well," Kim said. In another notable success, junior Cori Sibley advanced to the finals of Flight C singles before being derailed in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 by Sheila Consadine of Princeton in what Leary termed "a tough match." Sophomore Beth Brady and freshman Adrienne Supino, playing together for the first time, reached the semifinals of Flight C doubles before bowing out to a team from Seton Hall. Supino was replacing fellow freshman Akiko Takuda who was sidelined with a hamstring injury. "They played real well considering it was their first time together," Leary said. When the weekend ride was finally over, Leary was exhausted yet optimistic. The peaks seemed to outnumber the valleys. "We can definitely still improve," Leary said. "But I'm pleased with the way we played this weekend. People know we can play."
