Feb. 28, 2015
HUNTINGTON, W. VA.- The Penn State women's tennis team took No. 55 Marshall all the way to the very last set as the Thundering Herd escaped with a 4-3 victory. The match came down to the very last set as Taylor Shukow (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Rachael Morales split the first two sets. Morales won the third set 6-2, which clinched the match for Marshall.
Sam Tutelman (New York, N.Y.) recorded her third win in four matches after cruising to a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Kai Broomfield. Both Kim Surin (Montreal, Canada) and Devan McCluskey (Phoenix, Ariz.) both recorded come from behind three set victories. Surin fell 6-4 in the first set before tallying 7-6(0) and 6-2 wins to capture her fourth straight singles win. McCluskey dropped the first set 6-2 and then recorded back-to-back 6-3 victories to finish off the comeback.
"I am really proud of my team and I thought we played really well in parts of our match," said Head Coach Chris Cagle. "I thought our players stepped up in a tough environment."
The Thundering Herd captured the doubles point as Maddie Silver and Rachael Morales defeated Katia Blik and Katherine Whiteaway 8-4 to clinch the point for Marshall. Surin and McCluskey defeated Kai Broomfield and Marija Bogicevic 8-6 to even the doubles play at one after Derya Turhan and Anna Pomyatinskaya defeated Victoria Kisialeva (Toronto, Canada) and Blik 8-4.
"I thought today's match was very similar to the last four or five matches in that it came down to the end," said Cagle. "We are not quite there yet, but we are very close."
Penn State is right back on the court Sunday, March 1st as the Nittany Lions take on the 73rd ranked Utah Utes at 11:00 a.m. The blue and white return home next Friday, March 6 as they open their Big Ten home schedule against Illinois. Stay up to date with everything Penn State women's tennis on Facebook at Penn State Women's Tennis and on twitter @pennstateWTEN.
Singles Results: (Order of Finish: 5, 3, 1, 4, 2, 6)
1) Derya Turhan (MU) def. Blik 7-6(3), 6-2
2) Surin def. Maddie Silver (MU) 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2
3) Anna Pomyatinskaya (MU) def. Sapogova 7-5, 6-4
4) McCluksey def. Marija Bogicevic (MU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
5) Tutelman def. Kai Broomfield (MU) 6-4, 6-0
6) Rachael Morales (MU) def. Shukow 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Results: (Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3)
1) Derya Turhan/Anna Pomyatinskaya (MU) def. #51 Kisialeva/Sapogova 8-4
2) Surin/McCluskey def. Kai Broomfield/Marija Bogicevic (MU) 8-6
3) Maddie Silver/Rachael Morales (MU) def. Blik/Whiteaway 8-4