Feb. 26, 2012
University Park, Pa. - The No. 61 Penn State women's tennis team (7-3, 1-0) continued its stellar play this season, besting the Miami (OH) Redhawks (3-8, 0-0), 4-3, on Sunday. After giving up the doubles point to the Redhawks, Penn State battled back to win four singles matches, including two must win situations. The Nittany Lions improved to 6-1 at home this season and have won seven of their last eight matches.
"I think under pressure our team has really prevailed," said Head Coach Dawna Denny. "We've talked a lot about pushing through mentally and stepping up in pressure situations and trusting your game and trusting the game plan. I think this team has really started owning that philosophy and it's really showing when push comes to shove."
Match play began in doubles play, with three highly contested matchups. Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) and Chelsea Utting (Peachtree City, Ga.) faced Stephanie Danesis and Alix Thurman in the No. 1 slot. Januskova and Utting pushed the Redhawk duo down to the wire, but eventually fell, 8-6.
Carmen Sandor (Toronto, Canada) partnered with Fernanda Perrotta (Buenos Aires, Argentina) to take on Riekie Honiball and Christine Guerrazzi in the second doubles position. In what was another evenly matched contest, Penn State again came up just a little short. Sandor and Perrotta were bested by the Redhawk pairing, 8-6.
With wins in the first two doubles matches to finish, Miami (OH) automatically won the point despite the fact that Nina Sertic (Zagrab, Croatia) and Marie-Frederique Bedard (Montreal, Canada) were still playing. The pairing defeated Nimisha Mohan and Christiana Raymond, 8-6.
After a ten minute intermission, singles play began with the Redhawks holding a slight lead, 1-0. Utting took on Mohan in the number three spot. The sophomore came out victorious, earning an easy 6-2, 6-1 win. No. 43 Januskova finished next in the number one slot. After Januskova breezed through the first set 6-1, Danesis put up a good fight in the next, but Januskova pulled out the win, 6-4, to earn the point and give Penn State a 2-1 lead.
In the No. 4 position, Perrotta put up a valiant fight against Raymond, but came up just a little short in both sets. The senior lost, 6-4, 6-4. Next, Sandor faced Honiball in the number two spot. After winning the first set 6-1, the sophomore was eventually upended in the next two, 6-3, 6-3, for the loss. With two matches to go, Miami (OH) took the lead, 3-2.
As their teammates looked on, Sertic and Bedard could feel the pressure. Luckily they were up to the challenge. In the sixth spot, Sertic defeated Guerrazzi, 6-3, 6-1 and in the fifth position, Bedard overpowered Thurman, 7-6 (4), 6-1 to secure the win for the Nittany Lions.
"Thank goodness for Marie (Bedard) and Nina (Sertic)," said Denny. "Unfortunately they've been in the pressure situations at the end, but they are really tough at five and six and they have definitely showed their true colors under pressure."
Penn State will have a break in match play for two weeks. The Nittany Lions will restart dual match action on Wed., March 14, when they host Temple at 4:30 p.m, followed by a match against Eastern Michigan on Sat., March 17 at noon.
All of the Nittany Lion's home matches can be followed through the link for live stats at http://www.gopsusports.com/livestats/c-tennis/xlive.htm. Make sure to "like" the Penn State Women's Tennis page on Facebook and follow @PSUWomensTennis on Twitter!
NO. 61 PENN STATE 4
MARSHALL 3
2011 Women's Tennis Yearbook 2012 Roster 2012 Schedule Head Coach Dawna Denny 2012 Tennis Camps
| DOUBLES | SINGLES | F | ||||||||
| #1 |
#2 |
#3 | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | ||
3
4
Doubles
Danesis/Thurman
8-6
#1
Januskova/Utting
Honiball/Guerrazzi
8-6
#2
Perrotta/Sandor
Mohan/Raymond
#3
8-6
Sertic/Bedard
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
Danesis
#1
6-1, 6-4
#43 Januskova
Honiball
1-6, 6-3, 6-3
#2
Sandor
Mohan
#3
6-2, 6-1
Utting
Raymond
6-4, 6-4
#4
Perrotta
Thurman
#5
7-6 (4), 6-0
Bedard
Guerrazzi
#6
6-3, 6-1
Sertic
Order of finish:3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5