April 4, 2008
University Park, Pa.; - This weekend, the Penn State women's tennis team (7-8, 1-3) welcome the Purdue Boilermakers and the No. 62 Fighting Illini for two back-to-back matches. Saturday's match against Purdue will be played at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Weather permitting, Sunday's match against Illinois will be played outdoors at the Sarni Tennis Center. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
The Nittany Lions are hoping to end a two-game losing streak after falling to then No. 57 Minnesota and No. 45 Iowa on the road March 29 and 30. Penn State earned four singles wins on the weekend with senior Jenny Shular (Peachtree City, Ga.) accounting for two of the four. Shular defeated Minnesota's Tijana Koprivica (6-1, 7-5) and Iowa's Alexis Dorr (6-1, 6-3). The Nittany Lions earned the doubles point against Minnesota thanks to wins from sophomore Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and senior partner Katelyn BeVard (McLean, Va.) and junior partners Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Lauren Holzberg (Easton, Conn.).
The Purdue Boilermakers (3-11, 1-3) are coming off a tough 7-0 loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday. After facing the Nittany Lions, the Boilermakers will take on the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday in Ann Arbor. The Nittany Lions have not defeated Purdue since 1994. Saturday's match is Penn State's chance to make history if they can beat the Boilermakers.
The No. 62 Fighting Illini (7-7, 3-1) are coming off a 7-0 loss to conference foe No.1 Northwestern. Illinois has defeated Big Ten opponents including Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
"This is the first opportunity we've had to play a Big Ten match at home this season and the team is excited," said Dawna Prevette. "We have two tough teams coming and that means we have two great opportunities."
Following this weekend, the Penn State Nittany Lions will head back out on the road to take on Michigan and Michigan State. Both matches next weekend are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
- Nittany Lions -