Feb. 20, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Oklahoma Sooners (3-2) came out strong Friday night, handing the Penn State women's tennis team (2-6) a 6-1 loss at home.
Oklahoma started out with an early lead by picking up the doubles point. The Sooners continued on to win the first two singles matches before junior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) halted their scoring drive and picked up a point for the Nittany Lions. The Sooners clinched their victory by winning another singles victory and picking up their decisive fourth point.
In the No. 3 doubles match-up, freshman Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) and senior Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) couldn't find a rhythm against Peta Maree Lancaster and Kristina Radan, falling 8-0. Tara Eckel and Marie-Pier Huet followed with an 8-5 win over McCarthy and sophomore Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) in second doubles, clinching the doubles point for the Sooners. In an evenly matched No.1 face-off, freshman Monika Mical (Stalowa Wola, Poland) and junior Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) earned a tight 8-7 win over Ana-Maria Constantinescu and Maria Kalashnikova.
In a rematch between Mical and No. 98 Constantinescu in No. 1 singles, Constantinescu jumped ahead with a 6-2 win in the first set. Mical fell in the second set, 6-1, extending Oklahoma's lead to 2-0. Kalashnikova faced Prishlyak on the No. 2 court, working her way to a comfortable straight-set win, 6-1, 6-1. McCarthy followed in third singles, handling Radan in the first set, 6-3. McCarthy jumped ahead 5-3 in the second set, but Radan crept back into it and put the score at 6-5. McCarthy hung on to win the second set 7-5, earning the lone point of the day for the Lions.
Following in sixth singles, senior Leyla Morzan (Vancouver, British Columbia) fell behind Huet early. She was never able to catch up, dropping the first set 6-2. Morzan hung around in the second set before falling 6-4. With Oklahoma up 4-1, Dohanics handled Eckel in the first set of fifth singles, 6-2. Eckel took a 3-2 lead in the second set and cruised to a 6-2 win. In the decisive third set, Dohanics and Huet battled back and forth before Huet came out on top, 6-4.
Zobeideh dropped her first set in No. 4 singles to Lancaster by a 6-4 margin. Behind by one, Zobeideh fought back and moved ahead 3-0 in the second set before Lancaster came back to tie it at 4-4. Zobeideh tied the match at 1-1 by hanging on to edge Lancaster in the exciting second set, 7-6(6). Zobeideh appeared to be in control of the match as she moved ahead 5-3 in the third set, but was forced to retire after suffering an ankle injury.
The Nittany Lions kick of Big Ten play this Sunday at home against Purdue at 11 a.m. The match will be held at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center and admission is free. The Lions are on the road next weekend for a match at Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m.
Oklahoma 6, Penn State 1
Doubles Competition
1. Mical/Lotto (PSU) def. Constantinescu/Kalashnikova (OU) 8-7
2. Eckel/Huet (OU) def. McCarthy/Zobeideh (PSU) 8-5
3. Lancaster/Radan (OU) def. Prishlyak/Dohanics (PSU) 8-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles Competition
1. Ana Maria Constantinescu (OU) def. Monika Mical (PSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Maria Kalashnikova (OU) def. Maria Prishlyak (PSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Lauren McCarthy (PSU) def. Kristina Radan (OU) 6-3, 7-5
4. Peta Maree Lancaster (OU) def. Denisa Zobeideh (PSU) 4-6, 7-6(6), 5-3 retired
5. Tara Eckel (OU) def. Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. Marie- Pier Huet (OU) def. Leyla Morzan (PSU) 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 6, 5, 4