Sebastien Angel | For M. Tennis, a big job ahead

Jason Pinsky's team is 3-4 in the Ivy League. A losing record, for a change. But he was in the mood for introspection.

"I've been doing this for three years now. That's what I've based my whole career on - being solid, winning matches. Creating a legacy, which I feel I've done."

His Sunday opponent, Jon Wong, looked more like a jockey than a tennis player. The match program did not provide a tale of the tape, but Pinsky had him on height, weight, reach and trash-talking.

And even though Wong dominated in the opening set, Pinsky broke him in the second and seized control. By the time Wong let out a "Goodness Gracious!" he was behind for good in the battle of the mouths (and the racquets).

The win wasn't enough for Penn, though. Pinsky's legacy is intact, but his team's is not, and it may be a long way from restoration.

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This was supposed to be the golden era. Two years ago, coach Mark Riley led a group of four sophomores to a 6-1 Ivy record and a tie for the league title. Penn hadn't done that in 35 years.

Pinsky, a transfer from Vanderbilt, was the centerpiece.

"I knew this team was good, and I think we can keep going with this," he said after clinching in 2006. "We can win it for a while."

That was before his team dropped the Ivy tiebreaker to Brown. They did it again at Columbia one year later.

Those co-championships are useful enough - you can write "Back-to-Back Ivy League Champions" in the media guide. There was hope that this year, with four veterans and a few impact youngsters, Penn could end its season at the NCAA Tournament.

But Riley left for the head job at his alma mater, Division-III Kalamazoo. (A foolproof recruiting pitch: "We were mentioned in a Dr. Seuss book!")

He kept the success with him. Kalamazoo is up for its 70th consecutive conference title and the Quakers . well, they're 3-4.

* * *

They stumbled to an inauspicious finish on Sunday, a 4-3 loss to the rival Lions. Jonathan Boym finished the year injured; an ailing Joseph Lok was a no-show for his own Senior Day after a dispute with coach Nik DeVore. And two others from the opening day roster were not on the team by season's end.

Penn brings back only seven players next year, and Riley's squads were usually twice as big.

One of the biggest returning names is Adam Schwartz, whose looping left-handed forehand has given him inconsistent results. He lacks the powerful serve of a Pinsky or the lanky finesse of a Brandon O'Gara.

He was forced up to No. 3 singles because of injury, but had no time to get comfortable. Columbia's Bogdan Borta ran him ragged, and Schwartz's body language conveyed his team's situation. Penn, the two-time defending champion, is a newly-minted also-ran. If history is a guide, it'll be a long climb back up.

Sebastien Angel is a junior Political Science major from Worcester, Mass., and is former Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is angelsd@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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