| Senior Sasha Abraham and the Nittany Lions fell to No. 46 Purdue Easter Sunday (4-3), bringing their record to (8-10, 2-5) on the season. Penn State will host Michigan State Saturday, April 14, at 11 a.m. for their final home match at the Sarni Tennis Center off of Bigler Road, and admission is free. |
West Lafayette, Ind.; April 8, 2007 ?C The Penn State women??s tennis team (8-10, 2-5) nearly completed a weekend sweep in the Midwest, but the 46th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers jumped out early and held off the Nittany Lions by a 4-3 score Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Nittany Lions quickly found themselves down 1-0 after the Boilermakers claimed the doubles point. The Purdue pairing of Anna Dzeva and Alejandra Boeker defeated sophomore Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) in third doubles, 8-3, to give Purdue the 1-0 lead in points play. The 45th-ranked pairing of Mallory Voelker and Brooke Beier clinched the doubles point for the Boilers after an 8-3 win over senior Andreea Niculescu (Montreal, Quebec) and sophomore Lauren Holzberg (Easton, Conn.) in first doubles. Senior Sasha Abraham (Hyderabad, India) and junior Jenny Shular (Peachtree City, Ga.) picked up the lone doubles win of the day for the Blue and White with a second pairs victory over Neela Vaez and Cigdem Duru. 8-5.
Freshman Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) evened the score at 1-1 with a straight-sets victory over Boeker in sixth singles (6-2, 6-3). However, the Boilermakers jumped back out to a 3-1 lead after victories by Vaez and Duru in third and fourth singles, respectively. Vaez handed Holzberg a 6-3, 6-4 loss, while Shular came up short against Duru (6-2, 7-6). Purdue clinched the match as Niculescu dropped a hard-fought three-set match to Voelker, who won the first set by a 6-4 margin. Niculescu responded with a 7-6 win in the second set, but was shutout in the final frame. Penn State finished out singles with wins by Dohanics and Abraham to come away with a 4-3 loss to the Boilers. Dohanics was a winner in three sets against Dzeva in fifth singles (3-6, 6-1, 6-4) and Abraham posted a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Beier in the second solo slot.
??We came out flat today,?? said assistant coach Katie Dougherty. ??I am very proud of Sasha (Abraham), who had a breakout weekend. We will practice hard this week in preparation for our final match at home.??
The Nittany Lions 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.
No. 46 Purdue 4, Penn State 3
Singles
1. Mallory Voelker (Purdue) def. Andreea Niculescu (PSU) (6-4, 6-7, 6-0)
2. Sasha Abraham (PSU) def. Brooke Beier (Purdue) (6-2, 4-6, 6-4)
3. Neela Vaez (Purdue) def. Lauren Holzberg (PSU) (6-3, 6-4)
4. Cigdem Duru (Purdue) def. Jenny Shular (PSU) (6-2, 7-6)
5. Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) def. Anna Dzeva (Purdue) (3-6, 6-1, 6-4)
6. Lauren McCarthy (PSU) def. Alejandra Boeker (Purdue) (6-2, 6-3)
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 1, 5, 2
Doubles
1. #45 Voelker/Beier (Purdue) def. Niculescu/Holzberg (PSU) (8-2)
2. Shular/Abraham (PSU) def. Vaez/Duru (Purdue) (8-5)
3. Dzeva/Boeker (Purdue) def. Sarah Lotto /Dohanics (PSU) (8-3)
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2