If Penn is forced to share the Ivy League men's tennis crown again this season, it won't be with Brown.
The Quakers swept their New England road trip this weekend, getting by Yale with a 4-3 victory on Friday before upsetting fellow defending co-champion Brown 5-2 the following afternoon.
The Bears (0-2 Ivy), meanwhile, saw their hopes for an outright championship all but vanish on Saturday, having lost to Princeton the day before.
Last Tuesday, Penn (9-12, 3-0 Ivy) reemerged in the Division-I top-75 list with a ranking of 74. That ranking may climb this week after the Red and Blue asserted their dominance in conference play.
Yale almost proved Penn's skeptics right, however, giving their visitors more than they bargained for.
After splitting the first two doubles matches, the Quakers eked out the doubles point thanks to a 9-8 triumph by Mikhail Bekker and Jonathan Boym at the two-spot.
While the tandem performed heroics together, they crumbled in singles. Boym lost at two-singles and Bekker dropped three-singles in straight sets to Jeff Dawson - a member of the doubles team he had just beaten. Making matters worse for Penn, Yale's Brandon Wai shut down No. 71 Jason Pinsky in the top singles match, 6-4, 6-3.
The Bulldogs domination of the Quakers' top players ultimately didn't matter - Penn's lower singles dominated, winning all three matches in straight sets to produce a victory.
After Friday's emotional win, the Quakers turned to avenging last season's playoff loss to Brown, which cost the team a ticket to the NCAA tournament last year. After beating the Bears 4-3 in the regular season, the Quakers fell by the same margin in one-match playoff - dropping the doubles point and splitting the singles.
This time around, Penn knocked off the Ivy League's top-rated team on the Bears' home courts, decisively.
Penn won the doubles point in less dramatic fashion to start things off, then took care of business in singles.
Pinsky, Boym, and Bekker said "thank you" to the lower singles players by dominating to clinch the victory, relieving Friday's unlikely heroes of another day of pressure. Only Bekker could not win in straight sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
It was a good thing the top spots dominated: Joseph Lok won the only other singles match for the Quakers at the five-spot, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
The win also avenged Lok's dismal showing against Brown in last year's playoff.
Now, Penn must begin to prepare for Friday's match against the Ivies' only other remaining undefeated team: Harvard, which notched victories over Cornell and Columbia this weekend.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.