W. Tennis | Penn hoping for flu shot in the arm

The Penn women's tennis team has had five different lineups in as many matches this season.

On a team that has been plagued by sickness and injury, the Quakers are hoping for a common stroke and consistency that has been sorely lacking in the young season.

Tomorrow, a healthy Penn squad will play host to cross-city counterpart Temple (4-3). The Owls have not come close to beating the Quakers in the last decade. However, this year the playing field is more level.

"They have a lot of returning players in their lineup," interim coach Sara Schiffman said. "It should be a battle."

Penn will be aided by the return of two upperclassmen, junior No. 2 Maria Anisimova and senior co-captain Ekaterina Kosminskaya.

The talented Anisimova has had her playing time limited this season due to injuries. She appears to be ready to return to the lineup for at least the near future after getting in some valuable practice time this week.

Kosminskaya is also expected to be healthy after missing the singles portion of Sunday's match against Maryland due to flu-like symptoms. The core of Kosminskaya, Anisimova and senior co-captain Lauren Sadaka is vital as the Quakers attempt to right the ship after a 1-4 start.

Penn certainly took a giant step in turning things around with a victory over George Washington and a solid effort against Maryland last weekend.

"Even though we didn't win [against the Terrapins] we had so many promising results," Schiffman said. "Things are starting to click, and I think it's going to click for everyone on the team."

Last year when the Quakers faced off against the Owls, sophomore Alexa Ely soundly defeated Temple's current No. 1 Theresa Stangl at the No. 6 spot. That should give the top of the ladder some added confidence heading into the match.

Assuming the outright Temple No. 1 Elyse Steiner is still out with an injury, Anisimova and Temple No. 2 sophomore Lucie Pazderova could face-off in a rematch of last year's encounter, in which Anisimova suffered Penn's only loss in an otherwise defeathering of the Owls.

Schiffman couldn't care less about what happened against Temple last year.

"Even though we've beaten them in the past, it's a brand new season," Schiffman said. "We are looking to compete hard on every court."

The Quakers have been saying all season that their young squad needs to understand what it's like to be part of a team. But unfortunately for the Owls, Penn is finally getting ahead of the curve.

"Playing in college is a completely different feeling; in college you're playing with a team," Ely said. "You have to worry about a group, and I like it."

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