Jan. 21, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Penn State women's tennis team kicks off its spring season at home on Saturday, hosting the Bucknell Bison. This is the first match of the new year for the Nittany Lions, after wrapping up fall play at the Purdue Invitational in November. "We are happy to host Bucknell for our home opener," said head coach Dawna Prevette. "The team is hungry and we look forward to a great start to the season."
This season, the Nittany Lion squad will be led by seniors Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Canada) and Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn). Other veterans include junior Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) and sophomores Allie Hefter(Longmont, Colo.), Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine), Kristen Roth (Ardmore, Pa.), and Michaela Stracar (Jericho, N.Y.). Newcomers include freshmen Sarah Henderson (Auckland, New Zealand), Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada), Amy Simidian (Carlstadt, N.J.) and Stephanie Tarle (San Juan Capistrano, Calif).
Last time out, the Nittany Lions saw their final fall action at the Purdue Invitational in November. Simidian went undefeated in singles on the weekend, winning all four of her matches. In doubles play, McCarthy and Stracar notched a tight 8-6 victory over Purdue's Kay Kay Magi and Bhavani Tirumurti.
Saturday's dual match is the first of the regular season for the Nittany Lions. The team compiled a 5-18 record last year, including a 4-3 upset of then-No. 63 Iowa. This year's schedule includes 12 opponents currently ranked in the ITA Preseason Top 75, six of which are Big Ten opponents.
Bucknell finished second in the Patriot League Tournament last season after falling to Army in the league final, 4-1. Saturday's match will be the team's first action since the ITA Regional in Blacksburg, Va. in October. The Bison are led by senior Tania Varela, who holds one of the best No. 1 singles records in program history. Junior Lauren Lucido won the Flight A singles title at the Bucknell Invitational in September, and grabbed seven straight singles victories in fall play.
The Nittany Lions are 12-0 all-time against the Bison. In last year's meeting, Penn State came away with a 6-1 victory over Bucknell. The Lions jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after sweeping the doubles competition. Prishlyak handed Lucido a straight set loss on the No. 2 singles court, 7-5, 6-0, while McCarthy hung on to defeat Dara Dwojewski on the No. 4 court, 6-0, 4-6, 6-4.
Following Saturday's dual match, the Nittany Lions travel to Bethlehem, Pa. on Sunday to take on the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh at 3 p.m. The team returns home next Friday, Jan. 29 to host Akron at 5 p.m. at the Indoor Tennis Center, located off of Bigler Road. Admission to all Penn State home matches is free.