Sept. 11, 2009
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.; - The Penn State women's tennis team earned five wins at the opening day of the 17th annual William & Mary Invitational, as freshman Amy Simidian (Carlstadt, N.J.) picked up wins in both singles and doubles in her Nittany Lion debut.
In singles play, senior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) fell in the opening round of Flight A to Yasmin Hamza of Virginia Tech, 6-2, 6-1, followed by a loss to No. 4 seeded Ragini Acharya of William & Mary in the consolation quarterfinal, 6-3, 6-1. Simidian grabbed a come-from-behind win in her first collegiate tennis match with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Maggie MacKeever of Maryland in the opening round of Flight B singles. In the quarterfinal, Simidian was defeated by Christin Newman of Virigina Tech, 6-1, 6-1.
Junior Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) dropped a tough 6-2, 6-1 decision to No. 2 seeded Isabell Raich of Marshall in the opening round of Flight B. She went on to face Courtney Rauscher of Virginia Tech in the consolation quarterfinal, where was edged by a narrow 7-6(5), 6-4 margin. Senior Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) suffered a loss to No. 3 seeded Olena Leonchuck of VCU in the Flight C opening round, 6-1, 6-2.
In Flight D singles, freshman Sarah Henderson (Auckland, New Zealand) was topped by Josefin Hjertquist of VCU in the opening round, 6-3, 6-3, but went on to defeat Alex Smyth of Richmond in a super tiebreaker, 6-7(4), 6-3, 10-8, in the consolation quarterfinal. Also in Flight D, sophomore Michaela Stracar (Jericho, N.Y.) was edged by Maria Fuccillo of Virginia, 7-6(6), 6-3 in the opening round. In the consolation quarterfinal, Stracar handled Isabel Arana of Richmond in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. After a bye in the first round of Flight E, sophomore Allie Hefter (Longmont, Colo.) fell to top-seeded Kara Kucin of Marshall, 6-0, 6-0. No. 2 seeded sophomore Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) held on to defeat Tara Sheets of ETSU in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. She advances to face Thaddea Lock of Marshall in the semifinal tomorrow at noon.
In doubles action, McCarthy and Simidian handled Alexandra Brand and Julia Huschke of Maryland in the opening round of Flight A doubles, 8-5. Henderson and Lotto put up a fight before falling to Mesgarzadeh and Sabacinski of William & Mary in Flight B, 8-4. Also in Flight B action, Stracar and Zobeideh fell to No. 2 seeded Maggie MacKeever and Lisa Miller of Maryland, 8-1. Prishlyak and Hefter dropped an 8-2 decision to Diana Navrostskaya and Tara Sheets of ETSU in the opening round of Flight C doubles.
The Nittany Lions continue play at the William & Mary Invitational tomorrow and Sunday. Following this weekend's competition, the Nittany Lions will have a few weeks off before heading to Pacific Palisades, Calif. the weekend of Oct. 2 for the pre-qualifying round of the All-American Championships. On Friday, Oct. 9, the Lions will head to Lexington, Ky. for the weekend to compete in the University of Kentucky Invitational.
WILLIAM & MARY INVITATIONAL: DAY ONE RESULTS
DOUBLES
Flight A Doubles
Opening Round: Lauren McCarthy/Amy Simidian (PSU) def. Alexandra Brand/Julia Huschke (UMD), 8-5
Flight B Doubles
Opening Round: Mesgarzadeh/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Sarah Henderson/Sarah Lotto (PSU), 8-4 Opening Round: #2 Maggie MacKeever/Miller (UMD) def. Michaela Stracar/Denisa Zobeideh (PSU), 8-1
Flight C Doubles
Opening Round: Navrostskaya/Sheets (ETSU) def. Allie Hefter/Maria Prishlyak (PSU), 8-2
SINGLES
Flight A Singles
Opening Round: Yasmin Hamza (VT) def. Lauren McCarthy (PSU), 6-2, 6-1
Consolation Quarterfinal: #4 Ragini Acharya (W&M) def. Lauren McCarthy (PSU), 6-3, 6-1
Flight B Singles
Opening Round: Amy Simidian (PSU) def. Maggie MacKeever (UMD), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
Opening Round: #2 Isabell Raich (Marshall) def. Denisa Zobeideh (PSU), 6-2, 6-1
Quarterfinal: Christin Newman (VT) def. Amy Simidian (PSU), 6-1, 6-1
Consolation Quarterfinal: Courtney Rauscher (VT) def. Denisa Zobeideh (PSU), 7-6(5), 6-4
Flight C Singles
Opening Round: #3 Olena Leonchuk (VCU) def. Sarah Lotto (PSU), 6-1, 6-2
Flight D Singles
Opening Round: Josefin Hjertquist (VCU) def. Sarah Henderson (PSU), 6-3, 6-3
Opening Round: Maria Fuccillo (UVA) def. Michaela Stracar (PSU), 7-6(6), 6-3
Consolation Quarterfinal: Sarah Henderson (PSU) def. Alex Smyth (UR), 6-7(4), 6-3, 10-8
Consolation Quarterfinal: Michaela Stracar (PSU) def. Isabel Arana (UR), 6-4, 6-1
Flight E Singles
Quarterfinal: #1 Kara Kucin (Marshall) def. Allie Hefter (PSU), 6-0, 6-0
Quarterfinal: #2 Maria Prishlyak (PSU) def. Tara Sheets (ETSU), 6-2, 4-6, 7-5