Feb. 19, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Freshman Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Ontario) grabbed the biggest win of her young collegiate career tonight, upsetting No. 42 Michaela Kissell in first singles, 6-4, 6-2. Despite hanging tight on several courts, the Nittany Lions dropped a 6-1 decision to the Thundering Herd.
"I was very proud of Petra tonight," said head coach Dawna Prevette. "She is an extremely tough competitor and she deserves to win big matches like this one."
Marshall gained an early 1-0 lead by winning two of three doubles matches. As the match moved into singles action, the Herd jumped ahead 3-0 with a victory and a Penn State forfeit. Januskova brought the Lions within two with her victory, putting the score at 3-1. Following with three straight singles wins, Marshall clinched the 6-1 win.
In doubles action, Marshall took an early advantage as Thaddea Lock and Deanna Bailey topped freshman Sarah Henderson (Auckland, New Zealand) and sophomore Michaela Stracar (Jericho, N.Y.), 8-1. The Nittany Lion veteran tandem of seniors Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) and Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) kept pace with the nation's No. 23 doubles pair of Michaela Kissell and Dominika Zaprazna, forcing three ties and three lead changes in first doubles. After a tie at 4-4, the Thundering Herd duo charged ahead to an 8-4 win, clinching the doubles point for Marshall.
Following in second doubles, freshman Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) and sophomore Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over Marshall's Isabell Raich and Kara Kucin. Raich and Kucin hung around, trailing by only one game at 4-3 and 5-4, but Januskova and Prishlyak held them off for an 8-4 win.
With Marshall leading 1-0, the match moved into singles play. Penn State forfeited the No. 6 match, stretching Marshall's lead to 2-0. Stracar trailed Kellner by only one game at 3-2 early in the first set of No. 4 singles, but Kellner rallied to a 6-2 victory. In the second set, Kellner cruised to a 6-1 win to put Marshall ahead 3-0. Januskova's win followed on the No. 1 court to put the match at 3-1.
Following on the No. 3 singles court, McCarthy dropped a 6-2 first set to Raich. McCarthy stormed ahead to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but was unable to hold on as Raich cruised by to 6-3 victory to clinch the match for Marshall.
Lotto fell behind Zaprazna 0-4 early in the first set of second doubles, eventually dropping the set, 6-1. Lotto got her momentum back in the second set, jumping ahead 4-1 and cruising to a 6-3 victory to force a third set. Zaprazna ran away with the win after taking the third set, 6-3. With Marshall leading 5-1, Deanna Bailey topped Henderson in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
On Sunday, the Nittany Lions host No. 42 Boise State at noon at the Indoor Tennis Center. Penn State is on the road next weekend to take on No. 36 VCU in Richmond, Va. The team returns home the following weekend to resume Big Ten play against Ohio State on Friday, March 5 at 3 p.m. Live statistics will now be available for all Penn State home matches on the women's tennis page at www.GoPSUSports.com
No. 45 Marshall 6, Penn State 1
Doubles
1. #23 Michaela Kissell/Dominika Zaprazna (MU) Sarah Lotto/Lauren McCarthy (PSU), 8-4
2. Petra Januskova/Maria Prishlyak (PSU) def. Isabell Raich/Kara Kucin (MU), 8-4
3. Thaddea Lock/Deanna Bailey (MU) def. Sarah Henderson/Michaela Stracar (PSU), 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. Petra Januskova (PSU) def. #42 Michaela Kissell (MU), 6-4, 6-2
2. Dominika Zaprazna (MU) Sarah Lotto (PSU), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
3. Isabell Raich (MU) Lauren McCarthy (PSU), 6-2, 6-3
4. Catherine Kellner (MU) def. Michaela Stracar (PSU), 6-2, 6-1
5. Deanna Bailey (MU) Sarah Henderson (PSU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Thaddea Lock (MU) win by forfeit
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 2, 5