March 21, 2015
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- The Penn State women's tennis team strung together four straight singles victories to help spur their 4-3 upset over the 47th ranked Maryland Terrapins. Kim Surin (Montreal, Canada) started the rally and put the blue and white on the board with her straight sets victory over Nataliya Bredikhina 6-2, 6-1.
"I thought our schedule has prepared us for strong quality opponents like Maryland was today and we have improved throughout the year," said head coach Chris Cagle.
Katia Blik (Moscow, Russia) defeated last week's Big Ten Player of the Week Alexandra Stanova in straight sets. Devan McCluskey (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jacqueline Zuhse (Boca Raton, Fla.) won their matches over Olga Bredikhina and Olivia Gaudreault, respectively.
Maryland captured the doubles point by sweeping the first two matches. No. 65 ranked Kisialeva and Sapogova fell to Welma Luus and Alexandra Stanova. 8-1. Nataliya Bredikhina and Olga Bredikhina clinched the doubles point with their 8-4 victory over McCluskey and Surin. Jackie Zuhse and Katherine Whiteaway's match was never finished as the pair were down 5-4 at the point of stoppage.
"I thought we did a really good job in singles play," Cagle. "It was a collective effort and we battled and supported each other throughout the match. I thought our toughness really shined throughout today's match."
The Nittany Lions are right back on the court Sunday as they head up north to battle Rutgers. The match time was changed to 12:30 p.m. Follow the Nittany Lions on Facebook at Penn State Women's Tennis and on twitter @pennstateWTEN.
Singles Results: (Order of Finish: 4, 3, 6, 1, 5, 2)
1) Blik def. Alexandra Stanova (UMD) 7-6(5), 6-4
2) Ekaterina Tour (UMD) def. Kisialeva 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(11-9)
3) Surin def. Nataliya Bredikhina (UMD) 6-2, 6-1
4) Welma Luus (UMD) def. Sapogova 6-2, 6-3
5) McCluskey def. Olga Bredikhina (UMD) 6-4, 6-3
6) Zuhse def. Olivia Gaudreault (UMD) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Results: (Order of Finish: 1, 2)
1) Welma Luus/Alexandra Stanova (UMD) def. No. 65 Kisialeva/Sapogova 8-1
2) Nataliya Bredikhina/Olga Bredikhina (UMD) def. McCluskey/Surin 8-4
3) Ekaterina Tour/Olivia Gaudreault (UMD) vs. Zuhse/Whiteaway 5-4(unfinished)