| Junior Jenny Shular and the Nittany Lions topped the Illinois Fighting Illini (4-3) Saturday in Champaign. The team will now travel to West Lafayette, Inidiana to take on the No. 50 Purdue Boilermakers Easter Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.; April 7, 2007 ?C In a neck-and-neck battle for a much-needed Big Ten win for both teams, the Penn State women??s tennis team (8-9, 2-4) came out on top Saturday against Illinois, topping the Fighting Illini by a 4-3 margin. Senior Sasha Abraham (Hyderabad, India) and junior Jenny Shular (Peachtree City, Ga.) succeeded in both singles and doubles and were key players in the win.
In doubles, Shular and Abraham teamed up to defeat Shivani Dave and Alejandra MezaCuadra (8-1). However, the Nittany Lions hope for the doubles point faded, as senior Andreea Niculescu (Montreal, Quebec) and sophomore Lauren Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) fell 8-6 to Megan Fudge and Emily Wang and freshman Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and sophomore Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) dropped their match to Momei Qu and Kristina Minor, 9-7.
In singles action, points were back and forth in the beginning, with Shular defeated Minor in a pair of 6-1 sets, while Niculescu fell 6-4, 6-0 to Fudge, bringing the score to (2-1) in favor of the Illini. However, PSU brought their power and determination with them as the day went on, with Abraham grabbing a close match against Qu (6-3, 6-2). McCarthy notched a thrilling three-set win over Wang in sixth singles (6-4, 7-5). Dohanics clinched the win for the Nittany Lions as she fell 4-6 to MezaCuadra in the first set, but came back strong with 6-2 and 6-2 wins in the second and third set, respectively. Wrapping up singles on the day was Holzberg, who dropped her match to Dave (6-2, 4-6, 7-6).
??We looked lousy in doubles,?? said assistant coach Katie Dougherty. ??However, Sasha (Abraham) got a much needed win, we got things done today. We are excited to continue our success tomorrow against Purdue.??
The Nittany Lions will take to the road again tomorrow as they travel to West Lafayette, Indiana to battle No. 50 Purdue at 11 a.m. The Nittany Lions will return home next Saturday, April 14, to take on Michigan State for their final home match of the season. Action begins at 11 a.m. at the Sarni Tennis Center off of Bigler Road, and admission is free.
Penn State 4, Illinois 3
Singles
- Megan Fudge (Illinois) def. Andreea Niculescu (PSU) (6-4, 6-0)
- Sasha Abraham (PSU) def. Momei Qu (Illinois) (6-3, 6-2)
- Shivani Dave (Illinois) def. Lauren Holzberg (PSU) (6-2, 4-6, 7-6)
- Jenny Shular (PSU) def. Kristina Minor (Illinois) (6-1, 6-1)
- Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) def. Alejandra MezaCuadra (Illinois) (4-6, 6-2, 6-2)
- Lauren McCarthy (PSU) defeated Emily Wang (Illinois) (6-4, 7-5)
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2, 6, 5, 3
Doubles
- Fudge/Wang (Illinois) def. Niculescu/Holzberg (PSU) (8-6)
- Shular/Abraham (PSU) def. Dave/MezaCuadra (Illinois) (8-1)
- Qu/Minor (Illinois) def. McCarthy/Dohanics (PSU) (9-7)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3