NEW YORK - The University of Pennsylvania women's tennis team held an early lead but was unable to hang on, dropping a 4-3 decision at Columbia on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Quakers drop to 7-10 on the year and 0-2 in the Ivy League.

The Red and Blue earned the 1-0 advantage after taking the doubles point behind wins on courts two and three. After Lina Qostal and Ashley Zhu fell on court one, Jimena Rodriguez-Benito and OJ Singh then battled for a 6-4 win on court two, while Marta Kowalska and Marija Curnic tallied a win by a similar score to clinch the victory on court three. 

Momentum continued for Penn into singles play, as the Quakers won first sets on courts three, four and five. Kowalska won her fifth-straight singles match, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 win on court three over Paulina Ferrari to push the Red and Blue ahead 2-0. 

The Lions took wins on the top two courts over Qostal and Zhu to draw even at 2-2, but the freshman Curnic proved steady on court five over Ali Pollack to push Penn ahead yet again, tallying a 6-2, 6-4 win. After Jennifer Richards had several set points in the first set on court six, the rookie fell in a tiebreak and Adi Milstein went on to prevail in the second set for Columbia's third point.

All eyes fell on court four's battle between Rodriguez-Benito and Sarah Hu for the deciding point. Rodriguez-Benito seemed poised for an easy match with a 6-1 first set win, but Hu responded with a 6-0 breeze of her own in the second set. Hu went on to win the first four games of the third set, before the match see-sawed yet again, with Rodriguez-Benito rallying for four-straight wins to draw even. It was enough however, as Hu closed out the 6-4 win to seal the Columbia win.

Penn is back in action on Sunday, April 8 at 1 p.m. against Cornell at the Hamlin Tennis Center.

Columbia 4, Penn 3
Doubles
1. Christie Wan/Adi Milstein (Columbia) def. Lina Qostal/Ashley Zhu (Penn) 6-0
2. Jimena Rodriguez-Benito/OJ Singh (Penn) def. Jennifer Kerr/Sarah Hu (Columbia) 6-4
3. Marta Kowalska/Marija Curnic (Penn) def. Andrea Kevakian/Renee Ren (Columbia) 6-4

Singles
1. Jennifer Kerr (Columbia) def. Lina Qostal (Penn) 7-5, 6-2
2. Andrea Kevakian (Columbia) def. Ashley Zhu (Penn) 6-3, 6-3
3. Marta Kowalska (Penn) def. Paulina Ferrari (Columbia) 6-1, 6-1
4. Sarah Hu (Columbia) def. Jimena Rodriguez-Benito (Penn) 1-6, 6-0, 6-4
5. Marija Curnic (Penn) def. Ali Pollack (Columbia) 6-2, 6-4
6. Adi Milstein (Columbia) def. Jennifer Richards (Penn) 7-6, 6-0

Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3), Singles (3,2,1,5,6,4)