April 22, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- With the regular season in the rear view mirror, the Penn State women's tennis team is set to begin postseason play this weekend. The fourth seeded Nittany Lions (12-10) will open the Big Ten Championships against fifth seeded Indiana on Friday, April 24 at 11:00 ET.
Scouting Indiana
The Hoosiers enter the Big Ten's with a 16-7 record, including a 7-4 conference mark. Indiana finished the regular season ranked 47th as the Hoosiers rattled off four straight victories to end the season. Katie Klyczek is 14-9 from the first singles position and rides a four-match win streak into Friday. Paula Gutierrez is 16-6, including an 11-4 mark from the fourth singles spot. Doubles has been tough spot for the Hoosiers, as they have had at least four different doubles combinations at each of the three doubles positions. Klyczek and Kim Schmider own the best conference doubles record, as the duo is 4-2.
Last Time Out
Penn State and Indiana already met this season, as the Nittany Lions upset the 43rd ranked Hoosiers back on March 27th. Sophomore Dasha Sapogova (Minsk, Belarus) clinched the match for the blue and white with her 6-1, 6-4 victory over Paula Gutierrez. Victoria Kisialeva (Toronto, Canada), Kim Surin (Montreal, Canada) and Devan McCluskey (Phoenix, Ariz.) all tallied singles victory as well.
Playing BIG
Penn State finished with an 8-3 conference record, including recording victories in seven of the final eight conference matches. Sapogova led the way in singles play with her 9-2 record in conference. Sapogova has won her last six conference matches that were finished. The sophomore and Surin have combined to go 18-5 from the third and fourth singles position. In doubles, Jacqueline Zuhse (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Katherine Whiteaway (Sawbridegworth, England) led the way in doubles play, as the duo is 6-5 in conference play.
In the Rankings
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association released their latest rankings Tuesday as Penn State is ranked No. 48. The Nittany Lions moved up four spots from last weeks rankings where the blue and white were ranked No. 52. Last weekend, the Nittany Lions defeated No. 50 Michigan State 4-3 in a thrilling comeback at the Sarni Tennis Center. The blue and white wrapped up the regular season with a 4-0 loss to then No. 14 Michigan.
Live Stats
Live stats for every match can be found by clicking on the link above.
Up Next
The winner of Friday's match will move on to the quarterfinals, which is on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Follow Penn State on social media by `liking' our Facebook page at Penn State Women's Tennis and by following our twitter account @pennstateWTEN.