March 20, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 37 Nittany Lions (10-1, 0-1) head back out on the road again when the travel to Indiana this weekend to square off against the Indiana Hoosiers (10-3, 0-1) and the Purdue Boilermakers (9-1, 1-0). Following their match with the Hoosiers on Friday at 5 p.m. they will head to West Lafayette where they will close out the weekend against Purdue at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Penn State looks to come out re-energized after having no matches last weekend. In search of their first conference win of the season Petra Januskova and Chelsea Utting lead the Nittany Lions into Bloomington with their 10-1 singles records, which put them in a tie for sixth-best in the Big Ten. All five players ahead of them have played more matches to date. No. 41 Januskova will be the only nationally ranked singles player featured in these two matches.
The two Nittany Lions are ranked No. 57 in the most recent doubles poll. They enter the poll for the first time this season after having fallen out of it following the preseason.
Freshman Jacqueline Zuhse has worked her way into the No. 3 position in singles with her 8-2 record. The eight wins are tied for fourth-best in the conference among all freshmen with the three ahead of her all having played more matches. Freshman Devan McCluskey is right behind Zuhse with seven wins of her own.
Penn State heads out on the road having only played four of their 11 matches at home so far this season. They will be faced with an even tougher task going up against two nationally ranked teams. Indiana finds themselves at No. 38 in the rankings this week, jumping 22 spots after knocking off No. 2 Duke last weekend, 5-2.
The huge win gives the Hoosiers momentum heading into the match this weekend. Indiana is led by senior Leslie Hureau who dawns an 11-4 record in singles this season playing in the No. 1 position.
The Hoosiers have four players already with double-digit singles victories this season as well as two looking for their 10th this weekend. Junior Sophie Garre leads the team with 13 singles victories, good enough for second in the conference.
Hureau and Garre are ranked No. 52 in the nation in doubles, five spots in front of Januskova and Utting who entered the poll last week. The Hoosiers No. 1 duo come in with a 2-1 record versus ranked teams this season. The Hoosiers also feature the pair of Alecia Kauss and Shannon Murdy who have recorded 13 wins in doubles play this spring.
Indiana holds a 24-3 record all-time against Penn State with the Nittany Lions last win coming in 2003 when they topped the Hoosiers 5-2 at home. The Nittany Lions won the doubles point along with four of the six singles matches.
The Nittany Lions will have Saturday off before they will meet Purdue out on the courts on Sunday. Purdue enters the weekend ranked No. 21 in the nation having lost only one match all season. The loss came against then No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats, now ranked No. 11, in the ITA Team Indoor Championships in Evanston, Ill.
Purdue is led by Mara Schmidt who enters the weekend at 8-2 playing in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. The Boilermakers also include Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum and Gisella Pere who also have eight wins on the season.
Purdue has been dominant in doubles play this season having only lost four matches thus far, boasting a 30-4 record. Purdue's top duo of Schmidt and Krisztina Kapitany come in ranked No. 38 with a 10-2 record together.
The Nittany Lions upset Purdue at home last season to get their first win against the Boilermakers since 1994. The seventeen straight victories from 1995 through 2011 allowed Purdue to gain the edge in the all-time series, which they now lead 19-6.
Following their pair of matches against ranked foes, Penn State returns home to face Iowa on Friday, March 29 at 5 p.m. and No. 12 Nebraska on Sunday, March 31 at 11 am. at Sarni Tennis Center.