April 5, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Penn State women's tennis team suffered a tough setback against No. 23 Michigan today, 7-0. The Nittany Lions drop to 5-13 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten.
The Wolverines (11-5, 6-1 Big Ten) took an early 1-0 lead after clinching the doubles point with a sweep in the doubles competition. Michigan never looked back, completing a shutout in singles competition to take the 7-0 win.
In doubles play, junior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and sophomore Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) hung with Rika Tatsuno and Whitney Taney early on the No. 2 court, trailing by one at 4-3. The Michigan pair took control from there, winning the rest of the points and grabbing the 8-3 victory. Seniors Leyla Morzan (Vancouver, British Columbia) and Dorothy Dohanics (Pittsburgh, Pa.) fell to Denise Muresan and Lindsey Howard in No. 3 doubles, 8-3, clinching the doubles point for Michigan. Following in first doubles, junior Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) and freshman Monika Mical (Stalowa Wola, Poland) had an early 3-2 lead over Chisako Sugiyama and Tania Mahtani, the nation's No. 26 doubles tandem, but the Wolverine pair stormed ahead to an 8-3 win.
The match moved into singles play with Michigan leading 1-0. Mical fell to Tatsuno on the No. 2 court in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. Following in first singles, McCarthy put up a fight against No. 67 Sugiyama before falling, 6-2, 6-1. With Michigan ahead 3-0, Dohanics fell to Mahtani in the first set of No. 4 singles, 6-2. Dohanics was unable to find a rhythm in the second set as Mahtani grabbed a 6-2 win and clinched the match victory for Michigan.
Morzan dropped the first set in fifth singles to Michelle Sulahian, 6-1. In the second set, Morzan kept it close at 4-3, but was unable to hold on and suffered a 6-3 loss. Following on the No. 3 court, Zobeideh was defeated by Muresan, 6-3, 6-1. In the final match of the day, freshman Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) dropped her first set in sixth singles to Kari Wig, 6-3. Prishlyak jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, but Wig rallied back to tie the score at 5-5. After another tie at 6-6, Prishlyak was unable to hold on in the tiebreaker, falling 7-6(3).
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.
No. 23 Michigan 7, Penn State 0
Doubles Competition
1. Chisako Suglyama/Tania Mahtani (UM) def. Sarah Lotto/Monika Mical (PSU) 8-3
2. Whitney Taney/Rika Tatsuno (UM) def. Lauren McCarthy/Denisa Zobeideh (PSU) 8-3
3. Denise Muresan/Lindsey Howard (UM) def. Leyla Morzan/Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) 8-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Competition
1. No. 67 Chisako Sugiyama (UM) def. Lauren McCarthy (PSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Rika Tatsuno (UM) def. Monika Mical (PSU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Denise Muresan (UM) def. Denisa Zobeideh (PSU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Tania Mahtani (UM) def. Dorothy Dohanics (PSU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Michelle Sulahian (UM) def. Leyla Morzan (PSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Kari Wig (UM) def. Maria Prishlyak (PSU) 6-3, 7-6(3)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 4, 5, 3, 6
Match Notes
Penn State 5-13, 2-4 Big Ten
No. 23 Michigan 11-5 , 6-1 Big Ten