Dashing high hopes, the Penn men's tennis team returned from Princeton disappointed after last weekend's ITA Eastern Regional Tournament.
The Quakers' top hope, Fanda Stejskal, ranked No. 8 in the tournament, came up empty-handed in his first match. Following a first round bye, the senior lost to Virginia Tech's Stephane Rod, 7-5, 7-5.
Stejskal felt that he played a fine match, but that Rod had just outplayed him.
"He played better than I did on that day," Stejskal said, adding that because of Rod's strong serve and height he posed a difficult matchup for the first round.
Penn junior co-captain Ryan Harwood, the tournament's No. 17 seed, also lost in his first match.
The Quakers' lone bright spot was freshman David Lynn, who lived up to his billing as a top recruit by making it to the round of 16 in the tourney.
"It was my first time in the tournament and I had a difficult draw, so all in all I'm pleased," Lynn said.
In the round of 16, Lynn fell to No. 4 seed Andreas Laulund of Virginia Tech, 6-2, 6-1.
"Laulund was beatable," Lynn said, "but I would've had to play really well to beat him."
Penn coach Mark Riley was also impressed with Lynn's performance.
"It's a plus when you can have a freshman be one of the better players in the region right away," Riley said.
Following a slow start to the season, Lynn has begun to impress, winning the doubles draw of last week's Penn Classic with partner Stejskal.
"The older guys didn't show as much as expected," Stejskal said. "[Lynn] was the flagship of Penn out there."
Despite the success of his star freshman, Riley was rather disappointed with the performance of his team as a whole.
"They didn't play their best tennis," Riley said. "Let's leave it at that."
Penn senior captain Brian Barki echoed the disappointment of his coach in the team's performance.
"I know a couple of guys were looking to do better than they did," Barki said.
Riley expressed special frustration with Penn's veteran members.
"A lot of the older guys thought all they had to do was show up," Riley said.
Still, the Quakers feel that this match will serve as good motivation for the spring season, which begins on Jan. 26.
"It should make the team as a group work harder in the offseason," Riley said. "[This match] keeps everybody grounded."
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