Women's Tennis Falls to No. 15 Illinois, 5-2Women's Tennis Falls to No. 15 Illinois, 5-2

Women's Tennis Falls to No. 15 Illinois, 5-2

April 22, 2018

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- The Penn State women's tennis team took on No. 15 Illinois today in Big Ten action. The team fell, 5-2, in a closely contested conference match.


In doubles the team went, 2-1 to secure the point. Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C.) and Shannon Hanley (Kensington, Md.) took on No. 48 Daniela Novak and Sasha Belaya and won in thrilling fashion to clinch the point, 7-6 (7-5). Bennett Dunn (Orlando, Fla.) and Gabby O'Gorman (Gunnedah, N.S. Wales, Australia) fell to Jaclyn Switkes and Emilee Duong, 6-1. Olivia Rohrbacher (Sandusky, Ohio) and Hanna Wikberg (Stockholm, Sweden) took on Asuka Kawai and Mia Rabinowitz coming out on top, 7-6 (7-4).


In singles, Hanley fell to No. 97 Switkes, 6-2, 6-3. Smith pulled out Penn State's lone singles win of the day with a 6-4, 6-2 match against No. 110 Kawai. Dunn was defeated by Novak, 6-2, 6-2. Wikberg took on No. 107 Rabinowitz, and fell, 6-2, 6-2. Rohrbacher fell to Belaya, 7-5, 6-0. Taylor Shukow (Boca Raton, Fla.) was defeated by Duong, 6-1, 6-1.


"First of all, I want to give our four seniors a lot of credit, obviously they've contributed a lot to our program, and I'm very appreciative of their efforts both on and off the court," said head coach Chris Cagle. "Illinois was a little bit better than us in singles today, but you look at the doubles point and how close that was and pulling that out, I was really proud and happy for our team. We competed hard at a number of spots in singles and they were just a little bit better than us today. So, we've got to take that moving forward and learn from these things as we transition into next year. It is exciting to get to work with this group and I look forward to the things we can accomplish going forward."


The team finishes the season, 7-15 and 2-9 in the Big Ten.


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 Final:

  1. Samantha Smith/Shannon Hanley (PSU) def. #48 Daniela Novak/Sasha Belaya (ILL) 7-6 (7-5)
  2. Jaclyn Switkes/Emilee Duong (ILL) def. Bennett Dunn/Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) 6-1
  3. Olivia Rohrbacher/Hanna Wikberg (PSU) def. Asuka Kawai/Mia Rabinowitz (ILL) 7-6 (7-4)


Singles Final:

  1. #97 Jaclyn Switkes (ILL) def. Shannon Hanley (PSU) 6-2, 6-3
  2. Samantha Smith (PSU) def. #110 Asuka Kawai (ILL) 6-4, 6-2
  3. Daniela Novak (ILL) def. Bennett Dunn (PSU) 6-2, 6-2
  4. #107 Mia Rabinowitz (ILL) def. Hanna Wikberg (PSU) 6-2, 6-2
  5. Sasha Belaya (ILL) def. Olivia Rohrbacher (PSU) 7-5, 6-0
  6. Emilee Duong (ILL) def. Taylor Shukow (PSU) 6-1, 6-1