Feb. 8, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 8, 2011 - The Penn State women's tennis team (3-1) won both matches of its doubleheader as they the Nittany Lions earned wins over the Bucknell Bison (0-3) and the California (Pa.) Vulcans (2-1), winning 7-0 and 6-1, respectively. The wins give the Nittany Lions a three-match winning streak, their longest since March 11, 2008.
"I think we played well across the board today, everyone showed up and played hard," said sophomore Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada).
"I like the way we competed throughout the lineup, I feel that we can really use this performance as a springboard for this weekend," said head coach Dawna Denny.
Penn State 7, Bucknell 0
The Nittany Lions did not lose a single set as they swept the Bison. In first doubles, the ranked pairing of sophomore Januskova and junior Fernanda Perrotta (Buenos Aires, Argentina) started quickly by defeating Bucknell's Lauren Lucido and Daria Tuzhikova, 8-2, in first doubles. Sophomore Sarah Henderson (Bloomington, Ind.) and senior Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) defeated Bucknell's Dara Dwojewski and Dumitrita Iepuras in third singles, 8-2, to clinch the point for Penn State. In second singles, freshman Carmen Sandor (Toronto, Canada) and sophomore Amy Simidian (Carlstadt, N.J.) finished off doubles by beating Bucknell's Elena Vidrascu and Courtney Casey, 8-3.
Playing in second singles for the first time, Sandor made quick work of Bucknell's Iepuras, 6-0, 6-1, to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. Perrotta defeated Casey in fourth singles, 6-1, 6-2, before Zobeideh clinched a Penn State victory as she bested Bucknell's Lauren Rottkamp, 6-2, 6-2, in third singles. Simidian played in first singles for the first time of the season and bested Bucknell's No. 1 Lauren Lucido, 6-2, 6-4.
After sealing the victory, Henderson won her first singles match of the season after coming off of injury and defeated Bucknell's Tuzhikova, 6-0, 6-3, in fifth singles. In sixth singles, junior Maria Prishlyak (Kiev, Ukraine) earned her first win of the season as she beat Dara Dwojewski, 6-1, 6-0.
The 7-0 victory was Penn State's first sweep since blanking West Virginia Feb. 29, 2008.
Penn State 6, California (Pa.) 1
The Nittany Lions continued strong into the second leg of the doubleheader, again sweeping all three doubles matches. Henderson and Zobeideh earned their second doubles victory of the day as they routed California's (Pa.) Jade Pondicas and Laurie Navarro, 8-1, in third pairs. In first doubles, Januskova and Perrotta continue to prove their No. 68 doubles ranking as they won their third straight match over California's (Pa.) Franziska Stenhardt and Annabel Pieschl, 8-5. Sandor and Simidian fought off a late push by California's (Pa.) Anastassiya Zherdeva and Axelle Fernandez to hold on to win, 8-7.
In first singles, Januskova swept Franziska Stendardt, 6-0, 6-0, and earned her fourth consecutive victory. Sandor won her third consecutive match as she dominated Bucknell's Anastassiya Zherdeva, 6-1, 6-3, in third singles.
Zobeideh defeated Axelle Fernandez, 6-2, 6-2, in fourth singles to earn the win for the Nittany Lions. Zobeideh swept both singles matches and increased her win streak to three matches. In second singles, Prishlyak outlasted Annabel Pieschl in the longest match of the afternoon winning, 7-5, 7-6 (7).
In a hard fought battle, Simidian came back and to defeat Annabel Pieschl, 7-5, 6-4, after trailing 4-1 in the second set. Perrotta fell in a tough match to Jade Pondicas, 6-4, 0-6, in fifth singles. Prishlyak won the final match of the afternoon, holding off Laurie Navarro, 6-0, 7-6 (7).
The Nittany Lions open Big Ten play in Columbus as they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Fri., Feb. 11. Penn State will stay in Columbus to take on William & Mary on Sat., Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. before returning to State College to face the Iowa State Cyclones on Sat., Feb. 19 at 1 p.m.
--NITTANY LIONS--
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