April 6, 2018
MADISON, Wi.-- The Penn State women's tennis team had a come from behind, 4-3 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. Shannon Hanley (Kensington, Md.) clinched the match win with a victory on court No. 3.
The Nittany Lions went 2-0 in doubles, to win the point. Hanley and Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C.) got the win on court No. 1 over Lexi Kerbele and Kelsey Grambeau, 7-5 to clinch the point. Bennett Dunn (Orlando, Fla.) and Gabby O'Gorman (Gunnedah, N.S. Wales, Australia) dominated Sara Castellano and Michelle Linden, 6-2. Frederikke Svarre (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Olivia Rohrbacher (Sandusky, Ohio) had their match against Melissa Pick and MaryAnn Rompf go unfinished, but were down 6-5 when play ended.
The Lions battled it out in singles going 3-3, with two matches going to a third set. Smith continued on with her success in recent matches to tie things up, 2-2 overall, with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Grambeau. Hanna Wikberg (Stockholm, Sweden) also had a huge victory over Linden, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 that tied the match, 3-3. Hanley then sealed the victory with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 win over Rompf. Svarre fell to Keberle, 6-3, 6-2. O'Gorman fell to Castellano, 6-3, 6-1. Dunn dropped to Pick, 6-4, 6-4.
"I give Wisconsin a lot of credit," said head coach Chris Cagle. "They fought hard and the match could have gone either way. It is hard to express how proud I am of our team today. We fought back from match points down on a doubles court. Hanna Wikberg came back from being down 5-3 in the third set. Shannon Hanley clinched the match on a deuce point in the third set after having match points in the second set. Lastly, Samantha Smith has been our rock over the past few weeks. Today was a total team win!"
The team improves to 7-10 on the season and 2-4 in the Big Ten. Next up, the team will continue on the road to play Minnesota on Sunday, April 8 at 10:30 a.m.
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.
Singles Final:
- Lexi Keberle (WIS) def. Frederikke Svarre (PSU) 6-3, 6-2
- Sara Castellano (WIS) def. Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) 6-3, 6-1
- Shannon Hanley (PSU) def. MaryAnn Rompf (WIS) 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
- Samantha Smith (PSU) def. Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) 6-1, 7-5
- Melissa Pick (WIS) def. Bennett Dunn (PSU) 6-4, 6-4
- Hanna Wikberg (PSU) def. Michelle Linden (WIS) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles Final:
- Shannon Hanley/Samantha Smith (PSU) def. Lexi Keberle/Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) 7-5
- Melissa Pick/MaryAnn Rompf (WIS) vs. Frederikke Svarre/Olivia Rohrbacher (PSU) 6-5, unfinished
- Bennett Dunn/Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) def. Sara Castellano/Michelle Linden (WIS) 6-2