No. 48 Nittany Lions Advance to Big Ten SemifinalsNo. 48 Nittany Lions Advance to Big Ten Semifinals

No. 48 Nittany Lions Advance to Big Ten Semifinals

April 24, 2015

Final Stats

EVANSTON, Ill.- The Penn State women's tennis team began the Big Ten Championships Friday as the fourth-seeded Nittany Lions defeated the fifth-seeded Indiana Hoosiers 4-2 in the quarterfinals. The victory was the blue and white's ninth conference-win of the season.

Junior Victoria Kisialeva (Toronto, Canada) clinched the match for the Nittany Lions with her 7-6(4), 6-2 over Alecia Kauss. The victory was her sixth conference singles win.

"This was a great team win against a very determined Indiana team," said head coach Chris Cagle.

Penn State took an early 1-0 lead from the efforts of the doubles duos on the first two courts. McCluskey and Surin cruised to an 8-2 victory over Sarah Baron and Klyczek 8-2. The clincher came from Blik and Kisialeva, as the pair won a tough match over Carolyn Chupa and Kauss 8-7.

"The doubles point was huge for us and we kept the momentum rolling in singles play," said Cagle. "There was a lot of fight from our team on the court."

The Hoosiers got on the board when Katie Klyczek defeated Katia Blik (Moscow, Russia) in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to even the match at 1-1. Redshirt sophomore Devan McCluskey (Phoenix, Ariz.) put the blue and white back up for good as she defeated Stephanie Smith 7-5, 6-2. Kim Surin (Montreal, Canada) added to the lead as she beat Shannon Murdy 7-5, 6-2. Carolyn Chupa cut the blue and white's lead to 3-2 as she slipped by Jacqueline Zuhse (Boca Raton, Fla.) 6-4, 7-6(3).

Dasha Sapogova (Minsk, Belarus) and Paula Gutierrez had their match stop just as the third set began as Sapogova battled back to win the second set 6-4 after dropping the first set 7-5.

The Nittany Lions advance to the Big Ten Semifinals, where the blue and white will battle the first overall seed Michigan Saturday. The match time is slated for 11:00 a.m. ET.

"We are definitely excited about the win today and look forward to having a good battle against Michigan tomorrow," said Cagle. "We will definitely be ready."

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Singles Results: Order of Finish (1, 5, 3, 6, 2)
1) Katie Klyczek (IU) def. Katia Blik 6-2, 6-2
2) Victoria Kisialeva def. Alecia Kauss (IU) 7-6(4), 6-2
3) Kim Surin def. Shannon Murdy (IU) 7-5, 6-2
4) Dasha Sapogova vs. Paula Gutierrez (IU) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (unfinished)
5) Devan McCluskey def. Stephanie Smith (IU) 7-5, 6-2
6) Carolyn Chupa (IU) def. Jacqueline Zuhse 6-4, 7-6(3)

Doubles Results: Order of Finish (2, 3, 1)
1) Blik/Kisialeva def. Chupa/Kauss (IU) 8-7(6)
2) McCluskey/Surin def. Baron/Klyczek (IU) 8-2
3) Smith/Murdy (IU) def. Zuhse/Whiteaway 8-4