March 27, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.; - The Penn State women's tennis team came up short against Minnesota today, suffering a 5-2 loss on the road. The win was Minnesota's second Big Ten victory of the season, as Penn State fell to 0-3 in the league and 3-12 overall.
The Golden Gophers (9-6, 2-2) took an early 1-0 lead in the match as they grabbed the doubles point in a sweep of all three matches. Minnesota clinched its victory by winning the first three singles matches, taking a 4-0 lead. Penn State responded by winning on two of the final three singles courts.
Minnesota opened up doubles play with Karina Chiarelli and Alex Seaton handling freshman Monika Mical (Stalowa Wola, Poland) and junior Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) in first doubles, 8-4. Junior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and sophomore Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) saw their three-match win streak end as they fell to Tijana Koprivica and Niltooli Wilkins on the No. 2 court, 8-3. Magdalena Wiecha and Jackie Sperling completed the doubles sweep by defeating seniors Leyla Morzan (Vancouver, British Columbia) and Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 8-5.
The match moved into singles play with Minnesota leading, 1-0. On the No. 6 court, Morzan was shut out by Peta Forsyth in the first set, 6-0, and dropped the second by a 6-2 margin. Mical faced off with Chiarelli in the No. 1 match-up, falling 6-2, 6-2. Wiecha snagged the win for the Gophers in fourth singles as she handled Dohanics, 6-2, 6-3.
With Minnesota ahead 4-0, freshman Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) gave Penn State its first point of the night after battling from behind to defeat Sperling, 4-6, 6-4, 10-4. Zobeideh fell behind Seaton, 6-3, in the first set of third singles, but responded with a solid 6-1 win in the second. Seaton picked up another Minnesota point as she came out on top in the tiebreaker, 10-7.
In the final match of the afternoon, McCarthy slid by Koprivica in the first set of No. 2 singles, 6-4. In the second set, Koprivica tied the match by shutting McCarthy out, 6-0. McCarthy stole the victory from Koprivica, winning the tiebreaker, 11-9 and picking up a second point for the blue and white.
The Nittany Lions travel to Iowa City Sunday to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes at 12 p.m. on Sunday. Penn State is back at home next weekend to host Big Ten rivals Michigan and Michigan State. The Lions take on the Spartans on Saturday, April 4 at 11 a.m. and the Wolverines on Sunday, April 5 at 10 a.m. Weather permitting, the matches will be played outdoors at the Sarni Tennis Center. Admission to all Penn State home matches is free.
No. 64 Minnesota 5, Penn State 2
Doubles
1. Chiarelli/Seaton (MN) def Mical/Lotto 8-4
2. Koprivica/Wilkins (MN) def McCarthy/Zobeideh 8-3
3. Wiecha/Sperling (MN) def Morzan/Dohanics 8-5
Order of finish: #1, #2, #3
Singles
1. Chiarelli (MN) def Mical 6-2, 6-2
2. McCarthy def Koprivica (MN) 6-4, 0-6, 11-9
3. Seaton (MN) def Zobeideh 6-3, 1-6, 10-7
4. Wiecha (MN) def Dohanics 6-2, 6-3
5. Prishlyak def Sperling (MN) 4-6, 6-4, 10-4
6. Forsyth (MN) def Morzan 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: #6, #1, #4, #5, #3, #2