Feb. 7, 2012
University Park, Pa. - The Penn State women's tennis team (3-2, 1-0) defeated No. 57 Ohio State (3-4, 0-1), 4-3, in a thrilling match-up of Big Ten rivals. The Nittany Lions improved to 3-0 at home this season and earned their first victory against the Buckeyes since the spring of 2005. The match featured several intense battles with the first four singles matches going to three sets.
The match began in doubles play, with the tandem of Carmen Sandor (Toronto, Canada) and Chelsea Utting (Peachtree City, Ga.) showing no signs of rust after an eight day break, as they breezed by Fidan Manashirova and Gabby Steele, 8-1. After two extremely close matches in the one and two doubles slot, the Buckeyes eventually got the best of the Nittany Lions to take a 1-0 lead into singles play. Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) and Nina Sertic (Zagrab, Croatia) fell to No. 52 Kara Cecil and Kelsey Dieters, 8-6. In the final doubles match to finish, Fernanda Perrotta (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Marie-Frederique Bedard (Montreal, Canada) pushed Kelsey Haviland and Noelle Malley to the edge, but eventually were bested, 8-6.
Singles play started with four long, grueling matches that proved how competitive these Big Ten rivals are. In the No. 1 spot, Januskova continued her singles dominance, earning a 6-0, 2-6, 6-0, victory against Cecil to tie the score at 1-1.
"She (Cecil) changed her game plan in the second set and I didn't step up right away," said Januskova. "In the third set I went back to coaches game plan and it worked out."
Sertic was the next singles player to finish, battling to beat Tiffany Dittmer in the sixth slot, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
After losing a close first match, Perrotta battled back to defeat Dieters, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2). In the third set Perrotta came back from an early deficit to force the tie and eventually earned the tiebreaker to give Penn State a 3-1 lead.
Bedard also pushed her opponent to the brink in the number five singles slot. However, she came up a little short and lost to Steele, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6.
Utting faced Haviland in a heated match. After winning the first set 6-3, Utting started out the second set with a 4-1 advantage. However, Haviland battled back to tie the score at 4-4. After two intense games, Utting came out victorious, 6-3, 6-4, to clinch the upset for the Nittany Lions.
"I just knew I had to close it," said Utting. "I knew if I won I could get the win for the team. I was just thinking about ending it."
Although the match was already won, Sandor was still playing against Manashirova in the number three spot. Manashirova ultimately upended the sophomore, 6-2, 6-1.
"I'm really proud of the way our team played today," said Head Coach Dawna Denny. "We competed hard. OSU is tough but I felt we were prepared for them. This is a great start for Big Ten play and we will use this as a springboard for VCU this weekend."
Next up, Penn State will hit the road for the first time in over a month when it travels to Richmond, Va. to face No. 40 Virginia Commonwealth on Sun., Feb. 12 at 11 a.m. After that, the Nittany Lions will return to Happy Valley for eight straight home matches spanning from February 17 through March 25.
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!
PENN STATE 4
No. 57 OHIO STATE 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
#52 Cecil/Dieters
8-6
#1
Januskova/Sertic
Haviland/Malley
8-6
#2
Perrotta/Bedard
Manashirova/Steele
#3
8-1
Sandor/Utting
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
Cecil
#1
6-0, 2-6, 6-0
#96 Januskova
Haviland
#2
6-3, 6-4
Utting
Manashirova
6-2, 6-1
#3
Sandor
Dieters
#4
4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2)
Perrotta
Steele
5-7, 6-4, 3-6
#5
Bedard
Dittmer
#6
6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Sertic
Order of finish:1, 6, 4, 5, 2, 3