PHILADELPHIA - After its monumental win at the ECAC Championships over the weekend, the University of Pennsylvania men's tennis team catapulted to No. 23 in the nation according to the ITA. 

"It's a great accomplishment for our guys and a testament to the amount of hard work that they have put in," said head coach David Gaetz. 

The No. 23 ranking is the team's highest in program history via the ITA record books. Penn is the second-highest ranked school in the Ivy League behind No. 10 Columbia. 

The Quakers have enjoyed a hot start to the 2019 spring season. They are 9-1 which includes five wins over 2018 NCAA Tournament teams. Those teams are Navy, Cleveland State, VCU, Dartmouth, and Harvard. All of Penn's nine wins have come at Hecht Tennis Center, while its lone loss came to No. 11 Baylor on the road. 

The Red and Blue won the ECAC title last week for the first time since 2006-07. The Quakers defeated Dartmouth, the defending Ivy League champions, in the semifinal round and then took out Harvard in the finals. Against the Big Green it was Dmitry Shatalin who clinched the match, 9-7, in the third set, deciding tiebreaker. In the final against the Crimson, Max Cancilla secured the championship, winning 6-3 in the third set. 

Leading the Quakers this season has been Kyle Mautner. The senior debuted the spring season at No. 52 in the ITA rankings before dropping down to No. 92 two weeks ago. After his win against No. 33 Charlie Broom from Dartmouth on Saturday, Mautner skyrocketed back up to No. 54. 

Edoardo Graziani and Kevin Zhu have also provided stability in the Penn lineup. The freshman duo have held their own at the number two and three singles spots. Graziani and Zhu have also made up the Quakers' number two doubles team.