PHILADELPHIA – Duo Esha Velaga and Lara Stojanovski battled No. 2 doubles seed, Miriam Skoch and Jesika Maleckova, on Monday evening at Hamlin Tennis Center, falling 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round of the WTA 125 Ennoble Care Philly Open.

Playing on their home court as a wildcard entry, Velaga and Stojanovski opened the match with an impressive showing against the second-seeded pair. The first set featured a back-and-forth battle, with both teams trading games and neither side able to pull away early. The Red and Blue stayed within striking distance throughout the set before Skoch and Maleckova ultimately closed it out, 6-4.

The second set proved to be more challenging for the Penn duo, as the opposition built momentum and pulled ahead to take the set, 6-2, securing the straight-set victory.

Monday's match marked another opportunity for the Quakers to test their doubles chemistry developed throughout their collegiate careers against high-level professional competition, this time in front of a home crowd at Hamlin Tennis Center.