IOWA CITY, Iowa-- The Penn State women's tennis team defeated Big Ten foe Iowa in come-from-behind fashion, 4-3. Junior captain Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C.) clinched the match for the Nittany Lions on court No. 5.
Penn State improves to 7-2 and 1-0 in the Big Ten, while Iowa has its first loss in the Big Ten and moves to 7-2 and 0-1 in the Big Ten.
Frederikke Svarre (Copenhagen, Denmark) garnered her ninth win of the season, starting a perfect 9-0, tying the mark set by Chelsea Utting in 2013.
"It is never easy winning in the Big Ten on the road," said head coach Chris Cagle. "Credit to our team for fighting back in singles. I really feel like the combination of the hard work we have been putting in along with the experiences of past matches showed today. We can take today and use it as a springboard as we go into spring break play next week at Columbia!"
DOUBLES
Penn State went 0-2 in doubles matches, with one match going unfinished.
Gabby O'Gorman (Gunnedah, N.S. Wales, Australia) and Olivia Rohrbacher (Sandusky, Ohio) had their match go unfinished, staying unblemished on the season at 8-0.
Two doubles teams came out with new pairinings. Svarre and Smith debuted at No. 2 doubles together. Olivia Ryan (Victoria, Australia) and Chelsea Sawyer (Clemmons, N.C.) teamed up together at No. 3 doubles.
SINGLES
Penn State headed into singles down, 1-0, but went 4-2 in singles matches to get the comeback victory.
Svarre was first to get Penn State on the board, dominating Ashleigh Jacobs, 6-1, 6-0. No. 98 O'Gorman grabbed her first win as a ranked singles player, defeating Samantha Mannix, 6-4, 6-2.
Shannon Hanley (Kensington, Md.) put the Nittany Lions ahead 3-2 with a victory over Cloe Ruette 6-4, 7-5. Smith clinched the match win for the Nittany Lions, needing a third set to defeat Michelle Bacalla, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will head into spring break, first traveling to No. 38 Columbia to take on the Lions on Saturday, Mar. 2 at 2 p.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.
Doubles Final:
1. Samantha Mannix/Elise van Heuvelen (IOWA) vs. Gabby O'Gorman/Olivia Rohrbacher (PSU) 4-2, unfinished
2. Sophie Clark/Ashleigh Jacobs (IOWA) def. Frederikke Svarre/Samantha Smith (PSU) 6-2
3. Michelle Bacalla/Cloe Ruette (IOWA) def. Chelsea Sawyer/Olivia Ryan (PSU) 6-1
Order of finish: (3, 2)
Singles Final:
1. Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) def. Samantha Mannix (IOWA) 6-4, 6-2
2. Elise van Heuvelen (IOWA) def. Olivia Rohrbacher (PSU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Sophie Clark (IOWA) def. Chelsea Sawyer (PSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
4. Frederikke Svarre (PSU) def. Ashleigh Jacobs (IOWA) 6-1, 6-0
5. Samantha Smith (PSU) def. Michelle Bacalla (IOWA) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. Shannon Hanley (PSU) def. Cloe Ruette (IOWA) 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: (4,1,2,6,3,5)
