March 12, 2010
DALLAS, Texas; - The Penn State women's tennis team (4-9, 0-2 Big Ten) squared off against its sixth nationally ranked opponent of the season today, falling 7-0 on the road at No. 33 SMU (14-2, 1-0 C-USA). The young Nittany Lion squad continues to face excellent competition, as seven of the its nine remaining opponents are currently ranked in the nation.
"I am proud of the way our team competed today," said head coach Dawna Prevette. "SMU has a team of talented players and we pushed them today. It is a great springboard for us going into the Princeton match."
Opening the match in doubles play, SMU's Marta Lesniak and Aleksandra Malyarchikova grabbed an 8-0 win on the No. 1 court over senior Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) and freshman Amy Simidian (Carlstadt, N.J.). Freshman Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) and sophomore Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) hung around in second doubles, but dropped an 8-5 decision to Pavi Francis and Edyta Cieplucha to put SMU ahead 1-0. Following in third doubles, Shahzoda Hatamova and Casey Kennedy completed the Mustang doubles sweep by defeating senior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and sophomore Michaela Stracar (Jericho, N.Y.), 8-3.
With SMU leading 1-0, the match moved into singles play. Cieplucha, the nation's No. 117 singles player, extended the Mustang lead with her 6-2, 6-4 victory over Prishlyak on the No. 5 court. Sixth singles finished shortly after, as Francis came away with a 6-2, 6-2 win over freshman Sarah Henderson (Auckland, New Zealand).
Next on the No. 3 court, Malyarchikova sealed the match victory for SMU as she handled Lotto in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. Katarina Vankova put her team ahead 5-0 as she nabbed her third victory of the season, defeating Simidian 6-4, 6-3 in third singles.
No. 66 Januskova opened No. 1 singles with a 6-4 win in the first set, but No. 59 Lesniak responded with a 6-3 victory in the second. The nationally ranked opponents battled throughout the super tiebreaker, as Lesniak came away with the 10-5 win. In the final match of the day, Hatamova beat McCarthy in fourth singles, 6-1, 6-4.
Next up, Penn State is on the road against next weekend as it travels to New Jersey to take on No. 27 Princeton on Saturday, March 20 at 2 p.m. The Nittany Lions return home Friday, April 2 to resume Big Ten play against No. 35 Iowa at 5 p.m. and No. 55 Minnesota on Sunday, April 4 at 11 a.m. Live statistics are available for all Penn State home matches on the women's tennis page at www.GoPSUSports.com
No. 33 SMU 7, Penn State 0
Doubles
1. Marta Lesniak/Aleksandra Malyarchikova (SMU) def. Sarah Lotto / Amy Simidian (PSU), 8-0
2. Pavi Francis/Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) def. Petra Januskova / Maria Prishlyak (PSU), 8-5
3. Shahzoda Hatamova/Casey Kennedy (SMU) def. Lauren McCarthy/ Michaela Stracar (PSU), 8-3
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. No. 59 Marta Lesniak (SMU) def. No. 66 Petra Januskova (PSU), 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
2. Katerina Vankova (SMU) def. Amy Simidian (PSU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Aleksandra Malyarchikova (SMU) def. Sarah Lotto (PSU), 6-1, 6-3
4. Shahzoda Hatamova (SMU) def. Lauren McCarthy (PSU), 6-1, 6-4
5. No. 117 Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) def. Maria Prishlyak (PSU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Pavi Francis(SMU) def. Sarah Henderson (PSU), 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 3, 2, 1, 4