Although their sweet victory over Old Dominion is still lingering in the air, the Penn women's tennis team faces a new opponent today -- Seton Hall. The Quakers, according to record and reputation, are expected to pull out another decisive victory today. Today's match against Seton Hall will test the Penn women's endurance since it closely follows a hectic weekend of play. The Quakers will play at 3 p.m. in the Levy Tennis Pavilion, where they crushed both Old Dominion and Binghamton this past weekend after dropping a match to Virginia Commonwealth. Penn, who has been climbing the rankings and improving its record all year, are going into the match with a record of 4-3, while the Pirates have a slightly less impressive record of 1-3. Seton Hall was off to a rough start this season with three straight losses. After a disappointing first month, they gained their first victory on Feb. 21 against Lehigh, who is now 2-2. Seton Hall is undoubtedly looking forward to the match against Penn to continue their winning streak and improve their record. The Pirates' losses this season were all to respectable teams with good records, including Army (5-3), Georgetown (3-2-1), and Yale, which has a gaudy 6-0 mark thus far this season. Last year the Quakers soundly defeated the Pirates, 7-0, and expect to do the same again this year. Losing against the Pirates today would not only hurt the Quaker's record, but also the momentum the Red and Blue have recently gained by beating Old Dominion. Junior Alice Pirsu, No. 14 in the nation and Penn No. 1, will most likely be matched up against the Pirates' Kim Barfuss. Pirsu defeated Barfuss, 6-1, 6-2, last year. "I don't know their team that well. It doesn't matter who we play or what number they are ranked. We come out to play our best and win each time," Pirsu said. The top three Pirate players are Barfuss, a junior, Emelie Akerbrant, a junior but a new face from last year, and Lorell Zamot, a sophomore who lost to Raluca Ciulei last year, 6-1, 6-0. "I'm pretty excited," Freshman Caroline Stanislawski said. "I think we've got the upper hand. We're expected to win, but we never take anyone lightly. We're always there to play, no matter who it is. But tomorrow we're going to win." The enthusiasm of the Penn team certainly can't hurt their confidence or their attitude, but it will take more than that to close the deal against a Seton Hall team looking to double its win total.
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