April 24, 2015
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