W. Tennis ready for Virginia rematch

It will be a grudge match of tennis powerhouses when Virginia pays the Penn women's tennis team a visit Saturday at Levy Pavilion.

The No. 42 ranked Cavaliers (3-0) come to Philadelphia with the goal of taking down a Quakers team that embarrassed the then-defending ECAC champions, 6-1, at the Championships in the fall.

No. 31 Penn (4-1) is ready for the challenge.

"I think [Virginia] should be focused because it is a big match for them," Penn sophomore captain Sanela Kunovac said. "At the same time, we have got to step it up."

Stepping it up should not be too hard for a Penn squad that enters Saturday with a three-match winning streak.

After the Quakers blanked Seton Hall, 7-0, last Friday, the Red and Blue followed up their efforts with an even more impressive 6-1 annihilation of intrastate rival Penn State.

Not a bad way to get ready for the rematch with the Cavaliers.

"We have been playing real well for more than a week," Kunovac said. "We beat both Seton Hall and Penn State pretty easily, and now, we want this one badly."

Penn's fourth straight win, however, does not look as if it will come as easily as last weekend's victories.

Besides travelling to Philadelphia with the extrinsic motivation of avenging its fall defeat, Virginia -- much like Penn -- heads into this weekend's contest on an upswing.

En route to their undefeated record, the Cavaliers have taken out a trio of ranked opponents -- No. 72 Marshall, No. 37 Old Dominion and No. 75 Virginia Tech -- and look to be a far improved team from the one that lost to Penn in the ECACs.

"I don't think we can rely too much on the fall," Kunovac said. "At that match we played really well and looked like we were more match tough.

"I look forward to facing a really solid Virginia team."

Virginia's formidability should pose an even greater threat to the Quakers as they currently ride out the euphoria of their highest ranking in the history of the program.

Ranked No. 31 in the Jan. 31 Intercollegiate Tenis Association polls, Penn is adjusting to a new role against the Cavaliers -- that of being the favorite.

"It's pretty cool," Penn sophomore Nicole Ptak said. "We are usually the underdog, and this is the first year they're the underdogs."

Though Penn heads into the match wearing the bullseye on its back, the high ranking does not come without inherent advantage.

Since the Jan. 31 polls came out, the Red and Blue have won both of their matches and look to climb even higher in the new poll to be released at the beginning of March if they can continues their winning ways.

Beating Virginia will be a big step into that direction.

"This is a good ranking, but we are always striving for more," Penn sophomore Alice Pirsu said. "Once we achieve our best ranking we are aiming even higher."

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