April 9, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Penn State women's tennis team is on the road this weekend to take on Big Ten rivals No. 3 Michigan and Michigan State. The Nittany Lions and the Wolverines square off tomorrow at noon, followed by a match against the Spartans on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Last weekend, Penn State fell to two ranked conference opponents, No. 26 Iowa and No. 56 Minnesota. Senior Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and junior Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) notched back-to-back No. 2 doubles wins against the Hawkeyes and the Golden Gophers. Additionally, McCarthy nabbed a tight 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 No. 2 singles win over Iowa's Lynne Pognessee-Wei.
The Michigan Wolverines are currently ranked No. 3 in the ITA national team rankings, the highest in program history. Junior Denise Muresan is listed at No. 25 nationally in singles, holding a 13-5 dual match record in No. 1 singles. Muresan is 5-0 against Big Ten opponents. Freshman Mimi Nguyen has won her last ten matches and is 16-2 overall. The Wolverine doubles duo of Rika Tatsuno and Whitney Taney are No. 36 and hold a 16-2 record.
The Michigan State Spartans are 6-12 overall and 0-5 in the Big Ten. Elena Ivanova is 16-13 this spring, playing at the No. 4, 5 and 6 singles positions. In doubles play, Amy Barton and Whitney Wilson are 14-10 overall, including an 8-0 mark in second doubles. Against perennial powerhouse Northwestern last weekend, Wilson snagged a No. 3 singles win over Katie Turvy, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. Head coach Simone Jardim is in her second season leading Michigan State.
Last season, then-No. 23 Michigan took a 7-0 win over Penn State in Happy Valley on April 5, 2009. The Nittany Lions edged Michigan State on April 4, 2009 in an exciting 4-3 conference match-up at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.
Penn State is on the road again next weekend at Indiana on Saturday, April 17 at 11 a.m., then at Illinois the next day at noon. The Nittany Lions return home the following weekend to host conference rivals Northwestern on Sat. April 24 at 11 a.m. and Wisconsin on Sunday, April 25 at 11 a.m. Weather permitting, the matches will be played outdoors at the Sarni Tennis Center.