April 4, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - In a five-hour match that came down to the wire, the Penn State women's tennis team edged Big Ten rival Michigan State today, 4-3. Senior Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) clinched the victory with a long, drawn-out win in the final match of the day.
"Dorothy [Dohanics] really came through for us today," said head coach Dawna Prevette. "I was very proud of her."
The Lions fell behind early with a loss in No. 1 doubles, but quickly tied the score after picking up a win on the No. 2 court. With the count at 1-1, Penn State won the decisive third match to clinch the doubles point. In singles play, Penn State took a 2-0 lead after winning the first match. Michigan State followed with a win in second singles to put the score at 2-1. The Nittany Lions jumped ahead 3-1 with another victory, but the Spartans followed with two straight wins to tie the score at 3-3. The match came down to the final bout of the day as Dohanics battled her way to a win on the No. 5 court.
Junior Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) and freshman Monika Mical (Stalowa Wola, Poland) opened the match in No. 1 doubles against Elena Ivanova and Stephanie Kebler, the nation's No. 74 doubles pair. Lotto and Mical jumped ahead 2-1 early in the match, but the Spartan pair came back to tie the match, 2-2. Ivanova and Kebler never looked back, charging ahead to an 8-3 victory. Following in second doubles, junior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and sophomore Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) squared off with Whitney Wilson and Ana Milosavljevic. After a tie at 2-2, the Nittany Lion tandem led the rest of the match, on their way to an 8-4 win.
With the doubles score tied at 1-1, seniors Leyla Morzan (Vancouver, British Columbia) and Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) took an early 4-1 lead against Lindsey Lonergan and Dana Guentert. When the Lions appeared to be in control with a 7-2 lead, the Spartans fought back within three, 7-5. Morzan and Dohanics ended their rally to take the 8-5 victory and clinch the doubles point for Penn State.
With Penn State ahead 1-0, the match moved into singles. Morzan cruised past Lonergan on the No. 6 court in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Following in third singles, Zobeideh battled with Milosavljevic in both sets, but came up short in a 6-4, 6-4 loss. McCarthy handled Ivanova easily in the first set of No. 2 singles, 6-3. In a second set with four ties and four lead changes, McCarthy gutted out an 8-6 win to put Penn State ahead 3-1.
Following in the No. 5 clash, freshman Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) edged Dana Guentert in the first set, 8-6. Guentert responded with a 6-3 win in the second. With the match tied, Prishlyak put up a fight but Guentert hung on to win in a long third set, 8-6. Michigan State tied the match at 3-3 as Kebler defeated Mical in first singles, 6-2, 6-1.
With the score tied, the match came down to the No. 5 bout between Dohanics and Wilson. In the first set, Dohanics won by a 6-4 margin. Dohanics jumped ahead in the second set, 4-1, but Wilson rallied to tie the score at 5-5 and again at 6-6. After a series of long points, Dohanics held on to win in the tiebreaker, 7-6(2), clinching the decisive fourth point for the Lions.
Penn State is back in action tomorrow when they host No. 23 Michigan at 10 a.m. Next weekend, the Nittany Lions play their last two home matches of the season. The Lions host Indiana on Friday, April 10 at 4 p.m. and Illinois on Sunday, April 12 at 11 a.m. Weather permitting; the matches will be played outdoors at the Sarni Tennis Center off of Bigler Road. Admission to all Penn State home matches is free.
Penn State 4, Michigan State 3
Doubles Competition
1. Stephanie Kebler/Elena Ivanova (MSU) def. Sarah Lotto/Monika Mical (PSU) 8-3
2. Denisa Zobeideh/Lauren McCarthy (PSU) def. Whitney Wilson/Ana Milosavljevic (MSU) 8-4
3. Leyla Morzan/Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) def. Lindsey Lonergan/Dana Guentert (MSU) 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles Competition
1. Stephanie Kebler (MSU) def. Monika Mical (PSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Lauren McCarthy (PSU) def. Elena Ivanova (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(4)
3. Ana Milosavljevic (MSU) def. Denisa Zobeideh (PSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) def. Whitney Wilson (MSU) 6-4, 7-6(2)
5. Dana Guentert (MSU) def. Maria Prishlyak (PSU) 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(2)
6. Leyla Morzan (PSU) def. Lindsey Lonergan (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 2, 5, 1, 4
Match Notes Penn State 5-12, 2-3 Big Ten Michigan State 8-11, 1-5 Big Ten