W. Tennis slays Scarlet Knights

The Quakers continued their impressive play since returning from the West. In its final warmup before the Ivy season, the Penn women's tennis team swept Rutgers, 9-0, for the second consecutive year at Levy Pavilion. Although injury and illness kept Rutgers from bringing a full team to Penn -- the Scarlet Knights forfeited the No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles matches -- the Quakers had little trouble taking care of the five Scarlet Knights who made the trip. At No. 1 singles, Penn junior Lenka Beranova was unfazed by the lobs and consistent returns from Donna Krouzman and cruised to an easy, 6-3, 6-3, win. Penn's Anastasia Pozdniakova had a much harder time playing Karla Porter at No. 2 singles. After Pozdniakova took the first set, 6-3, Porter adjusted to the Penn co-captain's style and started making fewer errors. Porter started the second set up 2-1, and her fast-paced, precise shots kept her leading the set until the match reached 4-5. Pozdniakova responded by coming to the net, where Porter could not handle the Penn senior's shots as easily. "I guess I'm used to playing outside, where the game is slower," Pozdniakova said. "I had to move faster. I came out strong on important points." Pozdniakova ultimately took the match, 6-3, 7-5. At No. 3 singles, Penn's Shubha Srinivasan did not lose a single game to the Scarlet Knights' Carissa Sommerland. Quakers Jolene Sloat and Justyna Wojas notched solid wins at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively. After going undefeated in singles, Penn continued to show its strength in doubles. The top Penn duo of Beranova and Rochelle Raiss clobbered Krouzman and Porter, 8-1. When both of the Quakers came to the net , Beranova had no trouble hitting scorching volleys at the feet of the Scarlet Knights -- and on a shot or two, Raiss' powerful smashes made her opponents duck their heads for dear life. Penn senior co-captain Elana Gold and Srinivasan had a little more trouble when they faced Rutgers' Sommerland and Jennifer Heller at No. 2 doubles. At the beginning of the match, the Scarlet Knights almost consistently let balls sail by them, allowing the Quakers to sprint to a quick 2-0 lead. But when the Quakers were at the net together, Sommerland and Hellar began to smash the ball right past them, making the ball land repeatedly right on the lines. The Penn duo regained its strength to pull off an 8-6 victory. "We had some good battles," Rutgers coach Marian Rosenwasser said. "We were hitting some quality shots, and there were some very solid points. Even if we had a full compliment of players, we knew this would be a tough match for us. Penn is a very solid team with talent down the lineup. I think [Penn] is going to have a good spring." Penn is indeed having a good spring, as its tough early schedule has paid dividends. "In the beginning of the season we lost really close matches by just a few points," Penn assistant coach Tiffany Gates said. "We have a lot more confidence now, and I think it's because of the schedule. We expect to win [close] points now." Beranova agrees and believes this improvement will help Penn in the Ivy season, which begins on Saturday. "[Rutgers was] a good team, but we're all really playing well because of the competition we've been playing," Beranova said. "We've been going for our shots and making winners. When it comes close, Penn's likely to win."

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