| Sophomore Lauren Holzberg and the Nittany Lions suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Princeton Tigers Sunday, falling 4-3. The Nittany Lions (1-4) will return home Friday, February 16, to take on Syracuse and West Virginia beginning at 5 p.m. |
PRINCETON, N.J.; February 11, 2007 ?C Sunday??s women??s tennis battle all came down to the third singles match between Penn State sophomore Lauren Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) and Princeton??s Darcy Robertson. Robertson posted a hard-fought three-set win over Holzberg to give Tigers a 4-3 win over Penn State (1-4) Sunday in Princeton, N.J.
Holzberg defeated Robertson by a 7-5 margin in the first set, but Robertson came back with a 7-6 (5) win in the second set and clinched the match for Princeton with a 7-6 (5) victory in a third-set tiebreaker.
??You cannot say enough about how (Lauren) Holzberg played today,?? said head coach Buffy Baker. ??She definitely wins the Most Valuable Player Award in all of our hearts for the way she fought to the end.??
In other singles action, junior Jenny Shular (Peachtree City, Ga.) defeated Blakely Ashley (3-6, 6-4, 7-6,(5)) and sophomore Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) topped Sarah Hauh (6-0, 6-4). Also capturing a ??W?? on the day for the Lions was freshman Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) as she posted a straight-sets win over Kelly Steward (6-0, 6-3). Senior Andreea Niculescu (Montreal, Quebec) fell to Melissa Saiontz (6-2, 7-5) and senior Sasha Abraham (Hyderabad, India) dropped a 6-3, 6-0 match to Ivana King.
Penn State struggled in doubles Sunday, with the lone win coming from Holzberg and Shular, who defeated Ashley and Kristin Scott (8-6). Freshman Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) and Niculescu fell to Robertson and Hauh by an 8-3 margin and Abraham and McCarthy dropped an 8-3 decision to King and Saiontz.
The Nittany Lions will be back on home turf next weekend as they prepare to take on Syracuse and West Virginia. Play will begin Friday, February 16, at 5 p.m. at the Sarni Tennis Center, and admission is free.
Princeton 4, Penn State 3
Singles
1. Melissa Saiontz (Princeton) defeated Andreea Niculescu (PSU) (6-2, 7-5)
2. Ivana King (Princeton) defeated Sasha Abraham (PSU) (6-3, 6-0)
3. Darcy Robertson (Princeton) defeated Lauren Holzberg (PSU) (7-5, 6-7, (5), 7-6, (5))
4. Jenny Shular (PSU) defeated Blakely Ashley (Princeton) (3-6, 6-4, 7-6, (5))
5. Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) defeated Sarah Hauh (Princeton) (6-0, 6-4)
6. Lauren McCarthy (PSU) defeated Kelly Steward (Princeton) (6-0, 6-3)
Doubles
1. Ivana King/Melissa Saiontz (Princeton) def. Sasha Abraham/Lauren McCarthy (PSU) (8-3)
2. Darcy Robertson/Sarah Hauh (Princeton) def. Sarah Lotto/Andreea Niculescu (PSU) (8-3)
3. Lauren Holzberg/Jenny Shular (PSU) def. Blakely Ashley/Kristen Scott (Princeton) (8-6)