UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- Hitting the road for one final time in a seven match stretch, the No. 49 Penn State women's tennis team will travel to Big Ten foe No. 13 Ohio State. The Nittany Lions (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten) will face the Buckeyes (11-2, 0-0 Big Ten) this Sunday, March 17 at 12 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio.
"Like all of our opponents, we respect Ohio State and the success they have had with their program," said head coach Chris Cagle. "That being said, we will be ready to compete, battle and test ourselves this weekend! We look forward to the challenge on Sunday and the opportunity that is in front of us."
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LAST TIME OUT
Penn State was down in Orlando, Fla. and played against then-No. 48 VCU in the USTA National Campus Collegiate Series. Penn State downed VCU, 4-3, for its first win over a ranked opponent since 2015.
Chelsea Sawyer (Clemmons, N.C.) clinched the match win for the Nittany Lions with a victory on court No. 4.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State will be opening its Big Ten slate against the Nittany Lions. The Buckeyes have four wins against top 50 teams this season.
Ohio State has three ranked singles players in No. 62 Kolie Allen, No. 71 Isabelle Boulais and No. 80 Shiori Fukuda. Allen leads the Buckeyes with 12 singles wins, primarily coming from court No. 3.
Additionally, the Buckeyes have two ranked doubles pairs in No. 19 Shiori Fukuda and Isabelle Boulais and No. 72 Shiori Fukuda and Luna Dormet.
The two teams last met in 2018, where Ohio State handed the Nittany Lions a 7-0 loss.
TRENDING UP
Penn State entered the Oracle/ITA Division I Women's Rankings this past week, checking in at No. 49. This is the first time Penn State has been ranked since Jan. 20, 2016.
SAMMI SMITH SUPERSTAR
Against then-No. 48 VCU, junior captain Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C.) claimed career singles win No. 50.
Smith has been a mainstay in the lineup through all three of her years on campus, and this season was named captain alongside Shannon Hanley (Kensington, Md.).
NINE WINS
Penn State has nine wins to its name at just over the halfway point of the season. The last time Penn State reached nine wins in a season was in 2015, when the team went 13-11.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will finally return home to take on Nebraska on Sunday, March 24 at 9:00 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.
