Following a two-week delay, the Penn State women's tennis team will finally kick off the 2001-2002 season with a split squad competing in two different tournaments.
Five players will be making the trip to College Park, Md. For the Maryland Invitational and four will travel to Philidelphia for the Cissie Leary Invitational hosted by the University of Pennsylvania.
The first taste of outside competiton will be refreshing for a team that has done nothing more than practice to this point.
"Practice is going well," said head coach Buffy Baker. "Its good to see them competing so hard against their own teammates like that. We're all anxious to start the season though."
The contingent heading to Maryland will include junior April Uy, sophomore Leigh Ann Merryman and three freshman Megan Marton, Sarah Spence, and Maaria Husain.
While Uy and especially Merryman both competed extensively last season, this will be the Penn State premier for Marton, Spence and Husain.
"So far our only barometer has been what we have seen in practice. It will be good to see them against some differnet opposition, especially the freshaman. It will be good to see how the freshamn react and adjust to the college level," said Baker.
Joining those players in the competition will be representatives from Maryland, Syracuse, West Virginia, and American.
"Maryland has some players who standout," Baker said. "We played American in a dual-meet last year and West Virgina has a good team, so we should see some good competition."
Meanwhile, four starters from last year's NCAA tournament team, seniors Rebecca Ho and Janelle Perez, junior Judy Wang, and sophomore Kristen Nowicki, will compete in the Cissie Leary Invitaional.
This tournament will feature an ultra-tough field with seven players in the the ITA's top 100 spread throughout the bracket, including Ho at number 84.
Teams competing in the Invitational are include Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Lehigh, Old Dominon, Ohio State, Princeton, Richmond, Seton Hall, Temple, Yale and host Penn.
Old Dominion appears to be the strongest team with three players ranked in the top 100, headed by Nataly Cahana, the country's fourth ranked player. Penn, lead by Ivy League player-of-the-year Sanela Kunovac, will also have a strong presence. The Quakers are coming off an NCAA tournament appearance last spring, highlighted by a first round upset of heavily favored Pepperdine. Ohio State also qualifyed for NCAA tournament play last seaon.
"This tournament is pretty tough. All of the top eastern schools and girls will be there," said Wang.
"The field is strong. We should be able to get some good matches in," said Ho.
An area of uncertainty this weekend will be the doubles play. Wang and Nowicki will team up for the first time, and Perez and Ho will do the same.
"It won't be a problem," Wang said. "Me and Kristen have practiced well together, it will be good to get more experience."
The Cissie Leary Invitational will not break down the field into flights so it is concievable that a pair of Nittany Lions could meet somewhere in the tournament. It would not be the first time.
"I remember, my freshman year, in a tournament at Cornell, I played Janelle Perez in the finals," Ho said. "It was very weird. Our teammates in the stands couldn't cheer for either one of us. It was a strange experience."
With the team splitting up, the Nittany Lions' two coaches will also be separated. Baker will be in Maryland while assistant Ben Gabler will offer guidance in Philidelphia.
"I don't think it will be a problem," Wang said. "Both are great coaches. What's hard about it is splitting up the team. You always prefer to travel together as a whole team."
These two tournaments will begin a marathon slate, spanning two semesters, and potentially running in to late May.
The season's first competition, the Cornell Invtational, scheduled for September 14-16, was cancelled due to the terrorist attacks. With an already short fall season reduced even further, oppritunities to play and hone skills against live competition are at a premium. However, no one is complaining about the schedule change.
"It was hard for everyone," said Wang. "Everyone needed the time off. In a way it was good we didn't play."
