W.Tennic loses three matches over break

The Penn women's tennis team was swept during its recent road trip, and the losses weren't pretty.

No. 67 UC Irvine won, 4-3, No. 15 Fresno State coasted to a 6-1 victory and No. 27 UNLV blanked reeling Penn, 7-0.

Although sophomore Alice Pirsu moved up to No. 20 after these matches -- the highest ranking ever for a Penn player -- the team's collapse cast a shadow over her success as it descended to a lowly No. 48.

The loss to UC Irvine was one of the Quakers most humiliating experiences this season -- their first lost to an unranked team.

"We were too cocky," Penn sophomore Nicole Ptak said. "But the loss was also good for us because we got yelled at and then we came back and showed that we could compete with top teams."

The Quakers felt that they were far superior in terms of talent, but they were not in the right mindset for the UC Irvine match.

"We were just excited about being in California, and we were relaxed," Penn junior Raluca Ciulei said, who won her match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

Penn sophomore captain Sanela Kunovac was proud of the team's play in the next two losing efforts against the Bulldogs and the Rebels.

"Against UC Irvine the score may have been close, but we were definitely playing better in the last two matches where the final scores weren't close," Kunovac said.

Penn coach Michael Dowd was disappointed that the Quakers lacked the mental toughness to win tie-breaking sets against the Bulldogs and Rebels.

"Losing four three-setters isn't acceptable," Dowd said.

Another obstacle that the Quakers faced in these three matches was injuries to their star players, Kunovac and Pirsu. While playing UC Irvine, Pirsu's sore right elbow forced her to forfeit her match. A victory by Pirsu would have given the Quakers a 4-3 victory.

To minimize the pain in her elbow, Pirsu decided to serve the next two matches underhand.

Her strategy worked.

Against the Bulldogs, Pirsu shocked No. 22 Kim Niggemeyer, 6-7, 7-6, 6-1, despite her limited serve.

"Serving underhand she could still beat anyone in the country," Dowd said.

Kunovac skipped the match against the Anteaters but returned against Fresno State and UNLV.

She entered both of these matches as Penn's No. 4 seed instead of occupying her customary No. 2 slot.

Her knee pain effected her play as she uncharacteristically lost consecutive matches.

"Against Fresno and UNLV, I was 70 percent because I was still adjusting from the cortisone shots in my knees," Kunovac said.

The Quakers believe that their toughness will enable them to continue to play through injuries and to rebound from their four-game losing streak.

"They're going to play singles and doubles for the rest of the season," Dowd said, referring to Kunovac and Pirsu. "As far as I'm concerned and as far as they're concerned they are not injured."

The Red and Blue are eager to redeem themselves this Saturday against Temple.

"Its time to grit our teeth and play tennis," Dowd said. "No more excuses."

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