Sept. 19, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Under the leadership of first-year head coach Dawna Prevette, the Penn State women's tennis team heads back into action this fall at the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C., a weekend-long tournament beginning Sept. 28. The Furman Invitational is the first of a four-tournament fall schedule.
Prevette joins the Nittany Lions after spending one year as the assistant coach at Baylor University. Prior to taking the position at Baylor, Prevette was the head coach at North Texas for six seasons. While coaching at Baylor, she helped the Bears to the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships, as well as a berth in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
Following their trip to South Carolina, the women's tennis team will travel to Flushing Meadows, N.Y., for the Tennis Center College New York Invite, which runs Sat., Oct. 6 and Sun., Oct. 7. From there, selected team members will head south to Richmond, Va., for the NCAA/ITA Regional Oct. 19-21.
The Nittany Lions return home to close their fall schedule hosting the Penn State Invitational the weekend of Nov. 9.
The Nittany Lions women's tennis team will be led by a trio of young women who posted strong numbers in 2006-07. Junior Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished with a 23-14 record last year, winning 10 of 11 matches at one point during spring competition. Sophomore Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) returns after a stellar freshman season with an overall record of 20-16. The Nittany Lions can also look to senior Jenny Shular (Peachtree City, Ga.) for confidence and leadership heading into the 2007-08 season. After finishing with an overall record of 18-17, Shular was voted Co-MVP by her teammates and earned Academic All-America in the Big Ten.
The team returns seven members from its 2007 squad, including redshirt senior Katelyn BeVard (McLean, Va.) and junior Leyla Morzan (Vancouver, British Columbia).