Jan. 10, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 10, 2011 - The first ITA rankings have been released and the Penn State women's tennis team has been honored with having two doubles pairings and sophomore Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) in the polls.
"Being nationally ranked means a lot to us," said head coach Dawna Denny. "It shows we are making progress as a team and I am excited about where we are headed."
Januskova is the 59th ranked singles player, while Kristen Roth (Ardmore, Pa.) and Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) were ranked the No. 68 doubles pairing. Freshman Fernanda Perrotta (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Januskova are part of a nine-way tie as they enter the ranking at No. 68.
Sophomore standout Petra Januskova was ranked No. 81 in the ITA preseason poll in the fall. She had a 13-3 record in the fall season, including a singles championship at the WMU Super Challenge and a runner-up finish at the ITA Atlantic Regional. Januskova was the ITA Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year and the first Nittany Lion to earn a preseason top 100 ranking since 1989. In the Atlantic Region, Januskova is the No. 2 ranked player behind only Marshall's Michaela Kissell, who defeated Januskova in the ITA Atlantic Regional final.
Roth and Prishlyak are the No. 68 ranked doubles team after finishing the fall season with a 2-0 record with wins over Western Michigan and Iowa State. The duo of Januskova and Perrotta went 3-0 in the fall season, including a doubles championship at the WMU Super Challenge, beating fellow Big Ten opponents Indiana and Wisconsin.
The Nittany Lions will begin their 2011 regular season with a visit from Akron on Jan. 22 and will kick-off Big Ten play Friday Feb. 11 at Ohio State.
--NITTANY LIONS--