PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania women's tennis is set for its final weekend of the season, and will celebrate its seniors with two matches at home vs. Dartmouth and Harvard. First serve on Saturday, April 21 is 1 p.m, similar to Sunday's match.
The Quakers enter the weekend at 9-11 overall and 2-3 in the Ivy League after going 1-1 last weekend at Brown and Yale. Against the Bulldogs, Penn notched a 6-1 victory, their biggest against an Ivy League opponent since 2009. Freshman
Marija Curnic has been surging of late for Penn, having won four-straight matches, all in straight sets, to boast a 4-1 singles record in the Ivy League. Paired with junior
Marta Kowalska, the duo has been Penn's most successful doubles team this spring, with a 10-2 overall record, 4-1 against the Ancient Eight.
Penn's senior class of
Ria Vaidya,
Lina Qostal and
Nicole Berkman will play its final matches at home for the Red and Blue this weekend. All together, the three have combined for 110 victories in singles and 75 doubles wins.
Penn is 23-16 all-time vs. Dartmouth, but lost a tense 4-3 match last season in New Hampshire. The Big Green are 10-10 overall and 3-2 in Ivy League play after a weekend sweep over Cornell and Columbia last weekend. Dartmouth advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year.
The Crimson lead the all-time series over the Quakers, 28-13, but including a 4-3 Penn victory at the ECAC Championship, the Red and Blue have won four-straight matches over Harvard, marking the longest win streak for Penn in program history. Last year, Penn spoiled Harvard's chances at an outright Ivy League championship with a 4-3 victory in Cambridge. After losing the doubles point, Penn won singles matches on courts three, four, five and six to clinch the win. At this year's ECAC Championship, Penn fell behind 3-0 before rallying with wins from
Ashley Zhu,
Marta Kowalska,
Marija Curnic and
OJ Singh in singles. Harvard enters the weekend tied for the Ivy League lead with an overall record of 13-8 and 5-0 in the Ancient Eight.
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