March 22, 2015
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.- After knocking off the 47th ranked Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, the Penn State women's tennis team followed up that performance with a 6-1 triumph over the other Big Ten newcomer, Rutgers on Sunday. The Nittany Lions used five singles victories to help propel them past the Scarlet Knights. Penn State has now won four of their last five matches, including three conference matches in that span.
"It's always an accomplishment anytime you win on the road in the Big Ten," said head coach Chris Cagle. "I thought we had a really strong weekend and a strong last couple of weeks."
Kim Surin (Montreal, Canada) posted her second straight sets victory in a row, this time defeating Lindsay Balsamo 6-2, 6-1. Jacqueline Zuhse (Boca Raton, Fla.) improved her singles winning streak to three with her 6-3, 6-4 victory over Farris Cunningham. All five singles victories for the Nittany Lions were by straight sets, including wins from Taylor Shukow (Boca Raton, Fla.) over Lee Levy, Dasha Sapogova (Minsk, Belarus) over Mariam Zein, and Victoria Kisialeva (Toronto, Canada) over Chloe Lee.
Katherine Whiteaway can see the difference of the team now compared to the beginning of the season.
"We are playing a lot stronger now compared to the beginning of the season," said Whiteaway. "We are there to pick each other up and I think right now we are a pretty tough team to beat."
The Nittany Lions set the tone early in doubles play as the third doubles pair of Zuhse and Katherine Whiteaway (Sawbridgeworth, England) cruised to an 8-1 victory over Farris Cunningham and Lee Levy. Zuhse thought that the beginning of the season was a big turning point for herself and partner Katherine Whiteaway.
"We have learned a lot of who we are and what we needed to work on," said Zuhse. "We know where each of us are on the court at all times, which has been a big key to our success."
Devan McCluskey (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Surin locked up the doubles point with their 8-5 victory over Lindsay Balsamo and Mariam Zein. Kisialeva and Sapogova's match went unfinished as the duo was leading 5-4 before the stoppage.
"Tennis is a game of momentum and we definitely have it after this weekend," said Cagle. We are playing with confidence and we will need to play tough and execute with two big matches upcoming this weekend."
The blue and white return home this weekend as two ranked conference opponents head to Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions will battle No. 52 Indiana Friday, March 27 at 4:00 before No. 28 Purdue visits Sunday, March 29 at 11:00 a.m. Follow the Nittany Lions on social media on Facebook at Penn State Women's Tennis and twitter @pennstateWTEN.
Singles Results: (Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 6, 5, 2)
1) Gina Li (RU) def. Katia Blik 6-4, 5-7, 10-4
2) Victoria Kisialeva def. Chloe Lee (RU) 6-1, 6-3
3) Kim Surin def. Lindsay Balsamo (RU) 6-2, 6-1
4) Dasha Sapogova def. Mariam Zein (RU) 6-4, 6-0
5) Jacqueline Zuhse def. Farris Cunningham (RU) 6-3, 6-4
6) Taylor Shukow def. Lee Levy (RU) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles Results: (Order of Finish: 3, 2)
1) No. 65 Kisialeva/Sapogova vs. Mariam Zein/Chloe Lee (RU) 5-4(unfinished)
2) Surin/McCluskey def. Gina Li/Lindsay Balsamo (RU) 8-5
3) Zuhse/Whiteaway def. Farris Cunningham/Lee Levy (RU) 8-1