| Freshman Sarah Lotto and the Nittany Lions topped Syracuse (6-1) Friday, and will hope to defeat West Virginia starting noon on Saturday. Action will take place at the Sarni Indoor Tennis Center off of Bigler Road, and admission is free. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 16, 2007 ?C The Penn State women??s tennis team (2-4) ruled the court on Friday as they defeated the Syracuse Orange 6-1 in their first home match since January 27. Penn State continues its weekend matches against Big East foes when the Nittany Lions take on the West Virginia Mountaineers tomorrow at noon at Sarni Indoor Tennis Center, admission is free.
Penn State controlled the score from the beginning, sweeping the doubles matches for the first time this season. Seniors Sasha Abraham (Hyderabad, India) and Andreea Niculescu (Montreal, Quebec) began the action with an 8-4 win over Olga Votavova and Maria Vasilyeva. Sophomore Lauren Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) and freshman Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) were soon to follow, topping Catherine Zawadzki and Carolina Huignard (8-5), while sophomore Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) wrapped up doubles for the day, defeating Chelsea Jones and Anne Magellan (8-3).
The Nittany Lions continued their success in singles action, coming out on top in five of six matches. Abraham topped Vasilyeva (7-5, 7-5) and Holzberg defeated Zawadzki (6-4, 2-6, 6-4). Dohanics posted a 6-0, 6-0 win over, while McCarthy had a calm presence on the court with her 6-1, 7-5 win over Jones. In sixth singles, Lotto beat Magellan in a pair of 6-1 sets. The lone PSU loss for the day came when Niculescu dropped a first singles match to Votavova (6-0, 6-0).
Head coach Buffy Baker was very pleased with how the team stepped up their play Friday. ??We switched partners in doubles, and the girls responded well,?? said Baker. ??The clean sweep in doubles definitely gave us momentum throughout the rest of the evening in singles, and will hopefully give us a good start tomorrow against West Virginia.??
Penn State 6, Syracuse 1
Singles
Olga Votavova (Syracuse) defeated Andreea Niculescu (PSU) (6-0, 6-0)
Sasha Abraham (PSU) defeated Maria Vasilyeva (Syracuse) (7-5, 7-5)
Lauren Holzberg (PSU) defeated Catherine Zawadzki (Syracuse) (6-4, 2-6, 6-4)
Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) defeated Carolina Huignard (Syracuse) (6-0, 6-0)
Lauren McCarthy (PSU) defeated Chelsea Jones (Syracuse) (6-1, 7-5)
Sarah Lotto (PSU) defeated Anne Magellan (Syracuse) (6-1, 6-1)
Doubles
Sasha Abraham/Andreea Niculescu (PSU) defeated Olga Votavova/ Maria Vasilyeva (Syracuse) (8-4)
Lauren Holzberg/Sarah Lotto (PSU) defeated Catherine Zawadzki/Carolina Huignard (Syracuse) (8-5)
Dorothy Dohanics/Lauren McCarthy (PSU) defeated Chelsea Jones/Anne Magellan (Syracuse) (8-3)