Feb. 28, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
The Nittany Lions (3-7, 0-1 Big Ten) host West Virginia (2-6, 0-0 Big 12) at noon on Sunday in their final match before heading to Florida for a pair of matches during spring break. This weekend's meeting with the Mountaineers is the final non-conference match at home for Penn State on the season.
PROMOTIONS
There will be free pizza for all fans in attendance during Sunday's match with West Virginia.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State dropped their Big Ten opener to Ohio State Tuesday afternoon, 7-0. With the No. 1 doubles match going back-and-forth with both teams going on runs of three consecutive games, the Buckeyes were able to take the match's first lead with 8-1 victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
In singles the Nittany Lions were swept after the Buckeyes were able to avoid come-from-behind rallies from Katia Blik (Moscow, Russia) and Dasha Sapogova (Minsk, Belarus) who forced third sets in their matches.
PENN STATE NOTES
- All seven of the Nittany Lions losses have come to teams currently ranked in the ITA Team Poll. Five of those seven were ranked when the match took place.
- Carmen Sandor (Toronto, Canada) sits at #13 in Penn State's record books for career singles victories with 46. She needs two more to tie Judy Wang (1999-2003) for12th all-time in school history.
- Marie-Frederique Bedard (Montreal, Canada) is currently ranked 18th all-time in Penn State history with 41 career singles victories, one behind Sarah Spence (2001-2005) for 17th in team history.
- In only two-plus season with the Nittany Lions, Chelsea Utting (Peachtree City, Ga.) holds the 19th spot on Penn State's career singles victories list, one behind fellow senior, Bedard.
- Utting currently ranks 15th all-time with 44 doubles wins as a Nittany Lion, three away from tying Tricia Lehman (1992-1996) for 14th in program history.
- Sandor is 17th all-time in Penn State history tied with Lisa Thomas (1986-1990) with 41 doubles victories. She needs two wins to move into the 16th spot in Nittany Lions history tying Dorothy Dohanics (2005-2009).
- Bedard ranks 26th in team history tied with Teresa Whiteside with 31 career doubles victories. She needs one more win to move into the 24th spot with Leigh Ann Merryman (2002-2004) and Robyn Reagan (1992-1996).
- Sapogova leads the Nittany Lions with eight singles victories on the spring and only trails Bedard by one win on the entire season despite not being on campus in the fall. The last Nittany Lion freshman to lead the team in singles wins was Jenny Shular in 2004-2005.
SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia enters Happy Valley with a very young team containing no seniors and only one junior on the roster for first year coach Miha Lisac. The Mountaineers started the season with three straight losses including a loss on the road at their in-state rivals, Marshall. After returning home they knocked of California (Pa.) for their first victory of the season on February 7.
The Mountaineers knocked off the University of Charleston 6-1, while dropping three more matches sending them into the weekend matchup with a 2-6 record. Kaja Mrgole and Oana Manole lead the Mountaineers this season each having earned five singles and four doubles victories.
PENN STATE-WEST VIRGINIA SERIES HISTORY
The Nittany Lions have dominated the all-time series with their neighboring West Virginia Mountaineers, leading the series 20-1. In last years meeting the Nittany Lions defeated West Virginia, 5-2, to move to 8-0 on the season.
The Nittany Lions took the first lead in the match winning the doubles point after taking the matches at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. In singles, Penn State won four of six matches including wins at the No. 1, 2, 4 and 6 matchups. This upcoming match will be the fifth straight between these two programs played in University Park.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Nittany Lions fell out of the ITA Rankings released February 25. The rankings, which were computerized for the first time this year, saw many changes from teams in the top 25 all the way down to the bottom. This is the first time the Nittany Lions were not in the rankings since they entered at No. 59 in the poll released on February 16, 2012.
UP NEXT
Penn State will head down south over spring break where they will face South Florida on Monday March 10 at 11 a.m. and Southern Methodist University the next day at noon in Tampa, Fla. The pair of matches on will conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule for the Nittany Lions as they head to Lansing, Mich. to face the Michigan State Spartans on Friday, March 21.