Sports Briefs

M. Tennis ready for Richmond Saturday After a week of practice, the Penn men's tennis team sets its sights on Richmond for a Saturday matinee. The Quakers (2-0) are coming off a sweep of last weekend's doubleheader against Lehigh and Swarthmore. However, it is widely believed that Richmond (1-2) will pose a greater challenge than the aforementioned squads. "We're trying to build off last week," Penn coach Mark Riley said. "I think that Richmond is going to be a better test than we had last week." "They're definitely a solid team," senior co-captain Ryan Harwood said. "They're better than the two teams we played this past weekend." The Quakers have worked hard to solidify their doubles play this week, which could yield the swing point in a match. Penn is hoping for a strong performance as preparation for a big-time matchup with the University of Virginia next Saturday. "It's good for us if we can get a win here," senior co-captain Andy Kolker said. "We can get a lot of confidence from that win and take that into next weekend against UVA." In action last weekend, the Cavaliers (4-0) dismantled Richmond, 7-0. Therefore, tomorrow's contest with Richmond should give the Quakers a good gauge of how they will match up against Virginia. --Ryan Howard W. Track heads to Penn St. for Open The Penn women's track team will face arguably its biggest test of the year when it heads across the state for this weekend's Penn State National Open. The Quakers, coming off a promising performance at last weekend's Terrier Classic, know that the competition will be stiff in State College, Pa., but it is a challenge that Penn seems to relish. "The Penn State Open is one of the most prestigious meets in the Northeast this time of year -- a lot of great schools come out and compete," junior Caroline Rebello said. "It's a good meet to see where everyone is standing. "This is when things get really fun because it's so competitive." Penn is especially looking forward to the meet because the track at State College is one of the top indoor facilities in the nation. "It's a great facility, definitely one of the best that we've seen," Rebello said. "It also has a hydraulic bank track, which is pretty cool." As far as who will take advantage of the sparkling facilities at Penn State, Rebello, who competes in the pole vault, pointed at one area of the team that should especially thrive. "We do well in a lot of the field events. Charity should do pretty well," Rebello said. By 'Charity', Rebello refers to freshman shot put phenom Charity Payne, who has had a stellar rookie campaign thus far with numerous top-three finishes. For her part, Payne takes the early success in stride. "I'm being consistent with what I'm doing so far, but I hope to throw up something big this weekend," Payne said. This weekend's meet, which comes at the midpoint of the season, is an important one in preparing for the upcoming late- season grind. "We're looking to improve and get consistent and get ready for the Ivy League and for [the Heptagonal Championships]," Rebello said. "We're coming to the end of the season, so we've got to start peaking soon," Payne added. There will be no rest for the weary, however. Penn is back in action next weekend when it takes on Princeton and Penn State, in what is -- for obvious reasons -- the most heated meet of the year. "We always like to go out there and kick...," started Rebello, before gathering herself with a laugh. "It will be fun." --Matt Frisch W. Fencing looks to continue hot start After a 4-0 start, the red-hot Penn women's fencing team will be thrust into its toughest Ivy competition this weekend against league champs Yale on Saturday and Harvard on Sunday. Penn also plays Brandeis, Tufts, Boston College and at MIT on Sunday. If the Quakers want a chance at the Ivy title, their time is now. Last year, the loss to Yale was the Red and Blue's only Ivy loss by more than one match point. The Elis are notably strong, with a phenomenal foil squad as well as world under-20 No.1 sabre Sada Jacobson. "We have to be able to handle the rest of the team," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "I think we can." Harvard is not a pushover, either. With two newly-recruited top freshman foils, the Crimson will also be a challenge for the Quakers. Though freshman performances jumpstarted last week's competition at Penn State, young stars are likely to make or break the weekend. Unfazed by Yale, freshman Christina Kaneshige, who began her freshman season with a 7-2 performance last week said, "we will definitely have a win." Freshman Livia Rurarz-Huygens, who recently took seventh in a Division I competition in San Diego, also looks forward with confidence. "We are going to Yale not to win against them but to win the Ivy League," she said. "The battle starts here." A weekend sweep would be a strong step in the direction of the Ivy League title. Accordingly, the Red and Blue are ready for the battle. "I hope we make them cry," sophomore Yael Miller said. --David Perkel M. Fencing set to take on Harvard and Yale While U.S. News and World Report has Penn academically ranked fourth behind Yale and Harvard, the latest rankings for men's fencing show the Quakers (3-1, 0-0 Ivy) ranked ninth, ahead of No. 10 Yale (3-1, 0-0 Ivy) but just behind the No. 8 Crimson (5-0, 1-0 Ivy). "Two of my friends go to Harvard, and my brother went to Yale, and they all talk about their rankings in U.S. News and World Report," senior epee Dan Borden said. "We're going to get a little revenge this weekend." Saturday, Penn is set to start Ivy League play as it heads to New Haven, Conn., to take on Yale. Then, on Sunday, the Quakers will travel to Cambridge, Mass., for the MIT Invitational to take on Harvard along with MIT, Brandeis and Boston College. The match with Yale has Penn particularly excited, as they look to avenge the 17-10 defeat from last season. "Last year, they just blew us out, but this year's team is not the same," Penn coach Dave Micahnik said. "I think we can take them out." Foil Jeff Breen agrees that this will be a tough match. "They are also stronger this year than they were last year," he said. "We're going to have to go out there and fence as hard as we can, and even then it's not going to be easy." Harvard, a perennial resident of the Ancient Eight basement, has Penn worried this season after recruiting a strong freshman class that helped the Crimson defeat No. 7 Columbia for the first time in 25 years on Nov. 24. "Harvard got really good this year," junior sabre Chris Lvoff said. "They used to be the Ivy League team everyone beat. We always had fun crushing them, but now I think they're going to be a serious competitor." Breen disagrees that Harvard will be a tough match. "I'm not too worried," he said. "They got better, but we're still a much better team." The other Boston teams figure to be no match for the talented Penn squad. "The quality of those [Boston] teams are not even or balanced," Micahnik said. "They only have a few good individual guys." --David Burrick

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