| Sophomore Lauren Holzberg led the Nittany Lions in a 4-3 win over the Temple Owls Saturday in Princeton. The Lions will look to capture their second win of the spring season Sunday against the Tigers beginning at 11 a.m. |
PRINCETON, N.J.; February 10, 2007 ?C The Penn State women??s tennis team (1-3) won their first match of the spring season Saturday as they posted a 4-3 win over Temple in Princeton, N.J., Saturday. The Nittany Lions will remain in the Garden State to face Princeton Sunday morning.
Senior Sasha Abraham (Hyderabad, India) and freshman Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) topped Yuri Kurashima and Christine Clermont, 8-4. Temple responded to even the doubles score at 1-1 as Radka Ferancova and Dina Senkina earned an 8-3 win over freshman Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Canada) and senior Andreea Niculescu (Montreal, Quebec). Sophomore Lauren Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) and junior Jenny Shular (Peachtree City, Georgia) clinched the doubles point for Penn State as they registered a hard-fought 8-6 win over Felicia Frazier and Sharanya Pattabi.
Penn State fought hard in singles throughout the day??s action, coming out on top with three matches. Niculescu dominated the court against Senkina, defeating her 6-1, 6-4. Holzberg topped Pattabi (6-1, 6-1) and sophomore Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) beat Frazier in straight sets (6-3, 6-0). Abraham came up short against Kurashima (6-3, 6-1). Shular lost to Ferancova (6-3, 6-4). Wrapping up singles for the day was McCarthy, who dropped the first set to Clermont, 6-4, but came back to win the second set by a 6-2 margin. In the decisive third set, McCarthy dropped a 10-5 tiebreaker.
Head coach Buffy Baker was pleased by the way the team came together. ??It was great to have (Lauren) Holzberg back, and (Dorothy) Dohanics and (Andreea) Niculescu did a great job closing their matches,?? said Baker. ??It was fun to watch them play today, and I look forward to what will come our way tomorrow.??
The Nittany Lions will be back on the court at Princeton University Sunday to battle the Tigers at 11 a.m.
-NITTANY LIONS-
Penn State 4, Temple 3
Singles
1. Yuri Kurashima, Temple defeated Sasha Abraham, Penn State (6-3, 6-1)
2. Andreea Niculescu, Penn State defeated Dina Senkina, Temple (6-1, 6-4)
3. Radka Ferancova, Temple defeated Jenny Shular, Penn State (6-3, 6-4)
4. Lauren Holzberg, Penn State defeated Sharanya Pattabi, Temple (6-1, 6-1)
5. Christine Clermont, Temple defeated Lauren McCarthy, Penn State (4-6, 6-2, 10-5)
6. Dorothy Dohanics, Penn State defeated Felicia Frazier, Temple (6-3, 6-0)
Doubles
1. Sasha Abraham/Lauren McCarthy, Penn State defeated Yuri Kurashima/Christine Clermont, Temple (8-4)
2. Radka Ferancova/Dina Senkina, Temple defeated Sarah Lotto/Andreea Niculescu, Penn State (8-3)
3. Lauren Holzberg/Jenny Shular, Penn State defeated Felicia Frazier/Sharanya Pattabi, Temple (8-6)