PISCATAWAY, N.J.-- The Penn State women's tennis team fell for the first time this spring season in a hard fought match against Rutgers, 4-3. The Nittany Lions move to 4-1 on the season, while Rutgers improves to 2-0.
"Credit to Rutgers, they played better than us in the pressure situations today," said head coach Chris Cagle. "Our team fought today, but did not quite get it done. We can take the feedback from today to get better for Sunday and take that into a great practice tomorrow. I expect us to play with passion and get after it on Sunday against Cornell!"
Doubles
The Nittany Lions continued their doubles dominance, having won every doubles point so far this season, edging out Rutgers in tightly contested matches.
Gabby O'Gorman (Gunnedah, N.S. Wales, Australia) and Olivia Rohrbacher (Sandusky, Ohio) helped the Nittany Lions jump out to a 1-0 lead, defeating Kat Muzik and Jess Fisher, 6-4.
Frederikke Svarre (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Chelsea Sawyer (Clemmons, N.C.) sealed the doubles point with a win over Maya Jacobs and Jaci Cochrane, 6-4.
Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C.) and Shannon Hanley (Kensington, Md.) had their match against Sydney Kaplan and Kristiana Zahare go unfinished, 5-5.
Singles
Gabby O'Gorman dropped her first match of the year with a loss to Jacobs, 6-2, 6-4, moving the overall match to a tie at 1-1.
Svarre put Penn State's first singles points up on the day defeating Cochrane, 6-3, 6-4, to put Penn State up 2-1. Svarre has yet to drop a match this season and is a perfect 5-0 in the spring, a team-high.
Smith was able to put the Nittany Lions up 3-1 with a win over Kaplan in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Smith moves to 4-0 on the season in singles play.
Sawyer had to retire and lost her match against Muzik, 1-6, 7-5, 3-0, ret., which moved the match to 3-2.
Rohrbacher lost in a tight three-set match to Fisher, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, which tied the match up at 3-3.
Hanley's match at No. 6 singles went to a third set, with Zahare winning 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 to give Rutgers the win 4-3.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions look to remain perfect at home as they return to the Indoor Tennis Center for a match this Sunday, Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. against Cornell.
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. Gabby O'Gorman/Olivia Rohrbacher (PSU) def. Fisher, Tess/Muzik, Kat (RU) 6-4
2. Frederikke Svarre/Chelsea Sawyer (PSU) def. Jacobs, Maya/Cochrane, Jaci (RU) 6-4
3. Kaplan, Sydney/Zahare, Kristiana (RU) vs. Shannon Hanley/Samantha Smith (PSU) 5-5, unfinished
Order of finish: (1,2)
Singles Final:
1. Jacobs, Maya (RU) def. Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Fisher, Tess (RU) def. Olivia Rohrbacher (PSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Muzik, Kat (RU) def. Chelsea Sawyer (PSU) 1-6, 7-5, 3-0, retired
4. Samantha Smith (PSU) def. Kaplan, Sydney (RU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Frederikke Svarre (PSU) def. Cochrane, Jaci (RU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Zahare, Kristiana (RU) def. Shannon Hanley (PSU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
Order of finish: (1,5,4,3,2,6)
