PHILADELPHIA – Enjoying its best start since 2014-15, the University of Pennsylvania women's tennis team is ready for its first big test of 2019, the ECAC Championship, this weekend beginning with first-round play on Friday, Feb. 8 and concluding on Sunday, Feb. 10.

THE BRACKET

The intriguing aspect of the eight-team ECAC Championship is that it consists solely of Ivy League institutions, providing a sort of preseason tournament before the Ancient Eight enter league play in earnest in March and April.

Last season, Penn went 1-2 at ECAC's, finishing sixth with a win over Harvard and a pair of losses to Brown and Columbia before finishing 2-5 in Ivy League play during the regular season. In 2019, however, the Quakers are re-tooled and look set for a promising season behind freshman Iuliia Bryzgalova's 16-2 singles record at No. 1 and the dominant pair of Marija Curnic and Marta Kowalska at No. 1 doubles, a duo that sits 11-3.

In three dual matches this year, Penn has dropped just a single set and Kowalska, Ashley Zhu, OJ Singh and Mimi Levine join Bryzgalova with unbeaten records since the turn of the calendar.

In doubles, it has been more of the same for the Quakers, going 9-0 through the first portion of 2019.

Penn, the No. 6 seed, will open against third-seeded Harvard on Friday at 2 p.m., who finished second in the Ivy League last year, at 6-1. The winner will take on the survivor of Columbia-Yale. The losers will face off on Saturday as well, as each team is guaranteed three matches.

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