UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 2, 2017ââ'¬" The Penn State women's tennis team fell to Big Ten opponent Rutgers, 5-2 in the first outdoor matches of the season. The team currently sits with a 5-10 record with three weeks left of regular season play.
"Credit to Rutgers who played better and competed better than we did today," said head coach Chris Cagle. "We have to get better in many pressure situations to get over the hump in these types of matches. We have three weeks of regular season left and there must be a sense of urgency everyday to turn things around."
Samantha Smith and Bennett Dunn each won their singles matches in straight sets. Smith beat Chloe Lee 6-4, 6-2 and Dunn picked up the win against Jacqueline Cochrane after defeating her 6-4, 6-1. Liyin Xu played in her first match of the spring. Xu fell to Farris Cunningham 6-1, 6-2.
The Nittany Lions were unable to capture the doubles point. Rutgers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after claiming two of the three doubles matches from the Nittany Lions.
Penn State travels to Lincoln, NB to take on Nebraska this Friday, April 7. First serve is set for 6:00p.m. ET.
Keep up with the Penn State women's tennis team at GoPSUsports.com. For continued updates throughout the year, make sure to `like' our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewten and follow our twitter @pennstateWTEN.
Doubles Results:
1) Du/Muzik def. Zuhse/Dunn 6-1
2) Cochrane/Cunningham def. McCluskey/Hanley 6-4
3) Blik/Smith def. Levy/Lee 6-2
Singles Results:
1) Du def. McCluskey 7-6, 6-4
2) Tihomirova def. Zuhse 6-1, 7-5
3) Smith def. Lee 6-4, 6-2
4) Muzik def. Hanley 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
5) Dunn def. Cochrane 6-4, 6-1
6) Cunningham def. Xu 6-1, 6-2