May 22, 2013
UPDATE: The match has been scheduled for 6:30pm EST.
Championship Central | Full NCAA Doubles Tournament Bracket
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lions duo of Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) and Chelsea Utting (Peachtree City, Ga.) will be the third Nittany Lions pair to compete in the NCAA Doubles Tournament in program history when the tournament begins Thursday. In the first round of competition the pair will face the team of Karla Bonacic and Petra Niedermayerova of Kansas State. Match times have not yet been released by the NCAA.
This will be the first meeting between these two pairs. Januskova and Utting have enjoyed another victory-filled season together in Happy Valley. Together the pair bring a 17-6 record into the tournament in Illinois.
Utting has earned a total of 21 doubles victories to this point, the same number she won last year and one shy of her career high that she set as a freshman with Marquette. Januskova has totaled 19 doubles victories so far this season, two shy of her career high set last year.
The Nittany Lion duo began the season ranked No. 42 in the preseason poll. In the fall they competed at the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships where they knocked off No. 16 Millie Nichols and Olivia Smith of TCU. The pair also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Regional Tournament.
Januskova and Utting reentered the poll released on March 12 at No. 57. From April 7 to April 25, the duo jumped from the No. 75 spot to No. 21 in the nation. Wins against No. 34 Ruth Seaborne and Morven McCulloch, No. 27 Rachael White and Melissa Kopinski of Illinois, No. 9 Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton of Northwestern and No. 3 Emina Bektas and Brooke Bolender of Michigan boosted the Nittany Lion pairing to the highest ranking of their careers.
Januskova and Utting won their final five matches to end the season and were unbeaten in their last seven, with two going unfinished while they had the lead. The two partners finished the spring with a 14-4 record, 7-3 on the road and 7-1 at home.
The Wildcats pairing brings a 21-10 record into Champaign. They finished the regular season 7-2 in the Big 12. The pair holds a 7-5 record against ranked opponents this season.
The winner of this first round match will face the winner of the match between Bektas and Bolender of Michigan and Robin Anderson and Skylar Morton of UCLA. The Bruins pair fell to the Wolverines duo during their match in the team tournament but the Bruins went on to win the match 4-0 and continued their run to the final four.
With a win over the Wildcats duo, Januskova and Utting can become the first duo in program history to win an NCAA Tournament match.
The last time the Nittany Lions sent a pair to the NCAA Tournament was in the 1997-1998 season when Allison Barnet and Pilar Montgomery were selected. Prior to that Kelly Erven and Claudia Karabedian made the tournament in the 1988-1989 season.
UPDATE: The match is scheduled for 6:30pm EST (5:30 local time).