Feb. 13, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Penn State women's tennis team fell to 2-4 today with a 5-2 loss to No. 34 VCU at home. The Lions face No. 39 Denver Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.
"We fought hard today and played with pride," said head coach Dawna Prevette. "This is the proudest I've been all season."
VCU picked up the doubles point to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. The Rams followed with two singles victories, extending their margin to 3-0. Penn State answered with a singles win to move within two, but the Rams followed with another singles victory to push the their lead to 4-1. The teams split the final two singles matches to close the match at 5-2.
In doubles action, Olena Leonchuk and Mihaela Bunea edged senior Leyla Morzan (Vancouver, British Columbia) and junior Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) in a back and forth battle at the No. 3 spot, 8-7. Kateryna Yergina and Laura Burns topped junior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and sophomore Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) 8-3, picking up the doubles point for the Rams. The finals doubles match of the day came down to a tiebreaker, with freshmen Monika Mical (Stalowa Wola, Poland) and Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) edging Ana Bara and Alex Bara, 8-7(5).
The match moved on into singles play with the Rams ahead 1-0. In No. 4, singles McCarthy was defeated in straight sets by Burns, 6-1, 6-2. Prishlyak battled back and forth with Yergina in the first set of No. 2 singles, but fell in the tiebreaker, 7-6(4). Prishlyak couldn't bounce back and fell 6-0 in the second set, extending the Rams' lead to 3-0.
Coming off a solid No. 1 doubles win, Mical jumped ahead of Ana Bara early in No. 1 singles, winning the first set 6-4. Bara came back to tie the match with a 6-4 victory in the second set, before Mical sealed the deal with a 6-3 win in the third. In the No. 3 match-up, Zobeideh fell behind Alex Bara 4-6 in the first match. Zobeideh was victorious in a close second set, winning 7-6(5). Bara picked up the singles victory with a 6-1 win in the third set, clinching the match victory for the Rams.
In the No. 5 singles spot, senior Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned another point for the Lions in a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Leonchuk. In the final match of the day, Morzan fell to Bunea 6-1, 6-2 in No. 6 singles.
Following Sunday's match against Denver, the Lions are in Happy Valley again next weekend with matches against Oklahoma on Friday, Feb. 20 at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 22 at 11:00 a.m. against Purdue. Admission to all home matches is free.
VCU 5, Penn State 2
Singles Competition
1. Monika Mical (PSU) def. Ana Bara (VCU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. Kateryna Yergina (VCU) def. Maria Prishlyak (PSU) 7-6(4), 6-0
3. Alex Bara (VCU) def. Denisa Zobeideh (PSU) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-1
4. Laura Burns (VCU) def. Lauren McCarthy (PSU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) def. Olena Leonchuk (VCU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Miheala Bunea (VCU) def. Leyla Morzan (PSU) 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 1, 3, 5, 6
Doubles Competition
1. Monika Mical/Maria Prishlyak (PSU) def. Alex Bara/Ana Bara (VCU) 8-7(5)
2. Kateryna Yergina/ Laura Burns (VCU) def. Lauren McCarthy/Denisa Zobeideh (PSU) 8-3
3. Olena Leonchuk/Mihaela Bunea (VCU) def. Leyla Morzan/Sarah Lotto (PSU) 8-7
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Match Notes:
Penn State University 2-4
Virginia Commonwealth University 6-3