Feb. 4, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.; - The Penn State women's tennis team kicks off conference play tomorrow as it travels to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on the Purdue Boilermakers at 5 p.m.
"We are excited to start Big Ten play," said head coach Dawna Prevette. "Purdue has a solid program and we are looking forward to starting out on the right foot in the Big Ten."
Penn State suffered its first loss of the spring season last Friday when it fell to Akron, 5-2. Sophomore Michaela Stracar (Jericho, N.Y.) topped Akron's Jeremie Benjamin in straight sets in fifth singles, 6-3, 7-5. In No. 3 singles, sophomore Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) grabbed a point for the Nittany Lions with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Angelika Jogasuria.
Purdue is currently 4-0, with all four wins coming 7-0. This year's team trails only the 2007 team, which won five matches 7-0, the most single-season shutout wins in Boilermaker history. Senior Michelle Sammons is 4-0 playing No. 1 singles for Purdue. She and sophomore partner Jennifer Rabot are also undefeated in first doubles.
The Nittany Lions are on the road again next weekend when they travel to Wichita, Kan. to take on the Wichita State Shockers on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 1 p.m. The next day, they play at Oklahoma at 11 a.m. Penn State's next home match is Friday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. when it hosts Marshall at the Indoor Tennis Center. Admission to all Penn State home matches is free.