Penn women's tennis eager to resume a heated rivalry

Penn women’s tennis won’t have to dig deep to find the motivation to beat its next opponent; the rivalry is already bred in its bones and the only thing on its mind is vengeance after last year.

This Saturday, the Quakers will travel across state lines to face Princeton in both teams’ first Ivy matches of the year.

After surviving an injury-plagued start to the year, Penn (7-4) has since caught fire, prevailing in five of its last six contests and posting impressive victories against ranked teams. Last Saturday, the Quakers trampled Temple by a convincing 6-1 score at home.

“We feel very good going into the Ivies,” coach Sanela Kunovac said. “The season started with a fair amount of adversity. But the way we started and how we feel now mentally and physically [are] ideal.

“I feel like we’re piquing at the exact right time.”

Of course, this is the Ivies, when the competition is at its fiercest. The No. 66 Tigers (11-5) are sure to bring out their claws, and if records are any indication of what the outcome will be, then the numbers are not particularly encouraging for the Red and Blue.

Last year, Princeton — which boasts a 25-11 overall record over Penn — dismantled the Quakers, 6-1, in Philadelphia, with Penn only drawing one win in doubles play and one in singles, thanks to then-freshman Sonya Latycheva.

Now, the Quakers see themselves as underdogs entering hostile territory, ready to turn the tides and shed the burns of last year’s defeat from memory.

“I honestly expect every match will be down the wire,” Kunovac said. “We’re teams that are fairly matched on paper, [but] you have this added tension and rivalry that’s kind of built in once you sign up to go to Penn. It’s kind of what’s in your blood. Also, it’s on the road so in a sense that gets us much more fired up going and doing some damage. It should make for an amazing match.”

If there’s one thing in favor for the Red and Bue, it would be their doubles pairings this year. With adjustments to the lineup and the addition of freshman Kana Daniel to the team, Penn has found great success in all pairings and positions this year, coming away with doubles points victories in its last nine matches.

Last Saturday’s win against Temple saw the return of the dangerous duo of junior Sol Eskenazi and Latycheva, who were the Ancient Eight’s top-ranked pair last year. If the Quakers deploy a similar lineup and catch fire in doubles, they can establish a dominating tone early in the game and capitalize on that momentum during singles play.

“The doubles point is crucial,” Kunovac said. “From the start of the season, we recognized that and invested a lot of energy and training into the doubles. I think the results came: We’re better and faster than we expected to be.

“We know who they are, we know who we are and we expect a great battle.”

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