Fresh off its 24th consecutive victory over Georgetown, the Penn men’s tennis team returns to action on Wednesday against St. John’s. The Quakers (4-8) will wrap up the nonconference portion of their schedule against No. 74 Red Storm (8-5) in a midweek match. Though the Red and Blue have struggled significantly thus far this season, Penn looks to build on the momentum it attained after its win over the Hoyas last weekend. Let’s take a look at who’s up and who’s down entering the match.
Three Up
Penn’s record against the Red Storm: Though the Quakers haven’t dominated St. John’s the way they have obliterated Georgetown, Penn has historically had quite a bit of success against its New York opponent. While the two teams didn’t begin playing each other until 1992, Penn has taken six of eight meetings against St. John’s. The squads have split their past four meetings, however the Red Storm have been red hot this season. Wednesday’s match is up for grabs.
Hamlin Tennis Courts: It’s hard to find silver linings in Penn’s season thus far. Unlike 2012-13, the Quakers have gotten off to a dismal start, and have only captured consecutive victories once this year. Yet, even though the Quakers have only one home win in 2013-14, the Red and Blue will see one noticeable change on Wednesday: they’ll be playing outside, weather permitting. The match with St. John’s marks the first time the Quakers will play at Hamlin. Maybe the change of pace will help Penn turn its season around.
St. John’s record in March: The Red Storm have been on fire this month, capturing six of its eight matches since March 3. St. John’s only two defeats came to then-No. 43 Cal Poly on March 6 and No. 38 Cornell this past weekend. Don’t expect that success to end anytime soon.
Three Down
Penn’s nonconference record: Unlike last season, when Penn finished with an 8-5 nonconference record, the Quakers have been unable to muster success this year. Though Penn finished under .500 overall in 2012-13, the Quakers did have nonconference success. The same cannot be said this season.
R.J. Del Nunzio : Matched up against some of his team’s staunchest competition, the St. John’s sophomore hasn’t been able to rack up too many victories this season. Playing in the top two spots in the Red Storm’s singles lineup, Del Nunzio has notched only four victories in 12 matches in 2013-14. The New York native is 1-5 in matches at the No. 2 position, and is coming off a loss to Cornell’s Stefan Vinti on Sunday.
Looking Ahead: Without a doubt, things haven’t been easy for Penn coach David Geatz’s squad this year. Junior Jeremy Court has won only five of his 11 singles matches this season, and his struggles haven’t helped the Quakers rack up wins thus far. As the Red and Blue enters Ivy League play at the conclusion of their match against St. John’s, Penn will be forced to prepare to take on several tough conference rivals, including a ranked Cornell team that just defeated St. John’s. After winning only one Ivy contest last season, it’s safe to say that Wednesday’s matchup with the Red Storm could be Penn’s last opportunity to win a match for a long time.
