April 18, 2010
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.; - No. 26 Illinois (13-7, 7-1) topped the Penn State women's tennis team (4-16, 0-8 Big Ten) today, 7-0, on the road. The Illini are the 13th ranked opponent the Nittany Lions have faced this spring. Opening the match in doubles play, senior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and junior Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) fell to the nation's No. 51 doubles duo of Leigh Finnegan and Megan Fudge, 8-4, on the No. 2 court.
Following in third doubles, sophomores Michaela Stracar (Jericho, N.Y.) and Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) were edged by Breanne Smutko and Christine Stromberg in third doubles, 8-6. With Illinois leading 1-0, freshman Amy Simidian (Carlstadt, N.J.) and senior Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) wrapped up doubles action with a narrow 8-6 loss to Chelcie Abajian and Rachael White on the No. 1 court, 8-6.
In singles action, Prishlyak fell to Smutko on the No. 4 court, 6-1, 6-1. Following in second singles, Finnegan defeated McCarthy in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
With Illinois leading 3-0, Amy Allin secured the match victory for the Illini with 6-2, 7-6 win over Lotto on the No. 6 court. Fudge, who is ranked No. 90 nationally in singles, nabbed a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Simidian in the No. 1 match up.
With the Illini ahead 5-0, Zobeideh was edged by White in third singles, 7-5, 6-3. In the final match of the day, freshman Sarah Henderson (Auckland, New Zealand) pushed Kristina Minor into a tie breaker, but the Illini senior came away with a 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 win.
The Nittany Lions return home next weekend for their final two regular season matches. They will face Northwestern on Saturday, April 24 at 11 a.m. and Wisconsin on Sunday, April 25 at 10 a.m. The matches will be held outdoors at the Sarni Tennis Center, weather permitting.
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| White | 7-5, 6-3 | #3 | Zobeideh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Smutko | 6-1, 6-1 | #4 | Prishlyak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minor | 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 | #5 | Henderson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allin | 6-2, 7-6 | #6 | Lotto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Order of finish: | 4, 2, 6, 1, 3, 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
