After over five hours of what coach Phil Rogers dubbed "a real classic college tennis match," No. 32 Virginia fell to No. 54 Pennsylvania Sunday evening at the Boar's Head Sports Club by a final score of 5-2.
The Quakers opened the non-conference match by sweeping the doubles point, but their victories did not come without battles, especially at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, which posted scores of 9-8 and 9-7 respectively.
"The doubles were really tough, everyone was so close and we played really well, but everyone gave it their best effort so that was good," freshman Kristen James said.
Penn entered singles play with a 1-0 lead over the Cavaliers but only were able to come away with two of the matches, at No. 3 and No. 4.
"After dropping the doubles, and it's the first experience in five matches that that's happened to us, I was exceptionally proud of the way we put that behind us and came out with a lot of energy in the singles," Rogers said.
As evidence of the comparability of the two teams and their high level of playing ability, five out of the six singles matches were fought into the third set and resulted in very narrow losses.
After giving up the doubles point, "I thought I just had to go for the singles -- I had nothing to lose," freshman Lori Stern said. "Playing No. 3, there's such hard girls every match and I'm just so happy that I won this one. It helps my confidence, a win like this means a lot."
James's match was the only match of the evening captured in just two sets.
"In singles, again everyone tried their best," James said. "I just went out there and I played my hardest, literally. I don't think anybody should be disappointed, since I think it was a really good effort."
Rogers concurred.
"We really got good contribution out of everybody on our team," Rogers said. "Penn, I think, played with maybe a little more of a sense of urgency, although I really can't find a fault with our team today."
Despite the challenge put up by Penn and the disappointment following the lost doubles, the team remained positive and focused on the game.
"I wanted to win both for myself and above all for the team," Stern said. "That's the main thing in college tennis, winning for the team. When you play a match it's more for the team than for winning for yourself. As a team, all of these matches were so close that it's going to give us confidence for sure."
Rogers praised each of the players' games and the intense effort that they showed against a tough opponent.
"This one was really close score-wise and it could have gone either way." Rogers said. "Both teams should be very happy with their players when the dust clears."
Penn improved to 2-2. The Cavaliers' record now stands at 4-2 as they look ahead to their February 22 meeting with Virginia Commonwealth.
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