| Junior Jenny Shular and the Nittany Lions fought a tough battle against #6 Northwestern Saturday, falling 7-0. PSU will be back in action next Friday, March 2, to take on Marshall and Middle Tennessee State in Hunington, W.V., Friday beginning at 3 p.m. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA; February 24, 2007 ?CWhen the Penn State women??s tennis team (3-5, 0-1 Big Ten) took the court against #6 Northwestern Saturday evening at the Indoor Tennis Center, they knew it would be a heated battle against the nationally-ranked Wildcats who were coming off a huge win over Michigan. The Nittany Lions struggled to find their rhythm and came up short in a 7-0 loss to the Wildcats in PSU??s Big Ten opener.
In singles, senior Andreea Niculescu (Montreal, Quebec) fell to Georgia Rose (6-0, 6-0), while senior Sasha Abraham (Hyderabad, India) dropped a hard-fought match to Samantha Murray (6-2, 6-2). Sophomore Lauren Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) dropped a pair of sets to Alexis Prousis (6-4, 6-4) and sophomore Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) fell to Nazlie Ghazal in a pair of 6-3 sets. Freshman Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) was beaten by Suzie Matzenauer (6-2, 6-2). Junior Jenny Shular (Peachtree City, Ga.) had a tough fight with #66 Lauren Lui, topping the nationally-ranked Wildcat 6-4 in the first set, before falling 6-1 in the second and dropping the tiebreaker, 9-7.
In doubles action, Abraham and Holzberg dropped an 8-2 decision to #30 Rose and Prousis. Freshman Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Canada) and Shular fell to Lui and Keri Robinson, 8-5, while McCarthy and Dohanics were beaten by Alexis Conill and Murray, 8-5.
??We created opportunities for ourselves,?? said head coach Buffy Baker. ??But we did not sustain them long enough to be successful. We played well in the second and third rounds of doubles. What we are putting into practice is starting to pay off, and tonight??s match will help us in the long run.??
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Huntington, W.Va., to take on Marshall and Middle Tennessee State. Action begins at 3 p.m. PSU will return home on Friday, March 9 when they battle Wisconsin at 5 p.m.
Northwestern 7, Penn State 0
Singles
1. Georgia Rose (NU) def. Andreea Niculescu (PSU) (6-0, 6-0)
2. Samantha Murray (NU) def. Sasha Abraham (PSU) (6-2, 6-2)
3. Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Lauren Holzberg (PSU) (6-4, 6-4)
4. Lauren Lui (NU) def. Jenny Shular (PSU) (4-6, 6-1, 9-7)
5. Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) (6-3, 6-3)
6. Suzie Matzenauer (NU) def. Lauren McCarthy (PSU) (6-2, 6-2)
Doubles
1. Rose/Prousis (NU) def. Abraham/Holzberg (8-2)
2. Lui/Keri Robinson (NU) def. Sarah Lotto/Shular (8-5)
3. Alexis Conill/Murray (NU) def. McCarthy/Dohanics (8-5)