UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's tennis team lost its first match of the season at the hands of Purdue in a competitive 4-3 showing Sunday in Big Ten action at the Indoor Tennis Center.
The Nittany Lions fall to 2-1 on the year.
"We fought really hard today. I'm proud of where we are going," said head coach Alexandra Anghelescu. "Obviously taking the first loss of the season is always tough. But Purdue came in and competed really and push us to learn a lot of things before getting deep into the season. We're really excited to get to work and keep building off of everything we've done thus far."
Doubles
Doubles matches came down to the wire. The Nittany Lions lost two of three matches as Purdue won the point.
Karly Friedland (Hollywood, Fla.) and Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C.) fell to Purdue's duo of Nathalia Wolf Gasparin and Zela Dovnik, 2-6.
Frederikke Svarre (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Sofiya Chekhlystova (Tallinn, Estonia) picked up their first win as a team in a comeback, defeating Siera Shimizu and Rut Galdino, 7-5.
Doubles came down to Alexandra Nielsen (Vancouver, B.C., Canada) and Gabby O'Gorman (Gunnedah, N.S. Wales, Australia) who lost in a competitive matchup to Ena Babic and Csilla Fodor, 5-7.
Singles
Chekhlystova's dominant performance evened the score as she earned her first career singles win, defeating Shimizu 6-2, 6-0.
Purdue responded as Svarre was knocked off by Fodor 3-6, 3-6 as the Boilermakers reclaimed the lead.
O'Gorman suffered her first loss of the season against Babic, 4-6, 2-6 to extend Purdue's lead to 3-1.
Friedland battled, but ultimately came up short against Dovnik, 4-6, 7-5, 2-6 as Purdue clinched the win.
Nielsen brought the Lions back within two as she took care of Zeynep Naz Ozturk in straight sets, 7-5, 6-0.
Smith closed out the match with a win over Rut Galdino, 6-4, 7-6(2).
Up Next
The Nittany Lions will try to bounce back next weekend as they prepare for a pair of road matches. Penn State will face Rutgers on Friday before heading down to Maryland on Sunday.
Doubles Final
Ena Babic/Csilla Fodor (PUR) def. Alexandra Nielsen/Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) 7-5
Nathalia Wolf Gasparin/Zela Dovnik (PUR) def. Karly Friedland/Samantha Smith (PSU) 6-2
Frederikke Svarre/Sofiya Chekhlystova (PSU) def. Siera Shimizu/Rut Galdino (PUR) 7-5
Order of finish: 2,3,1
Singles Final
Ena Babic (PUR) def. Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) 6-4, 6-2
Csilla Fodor (PUR) def. Frederikke Svarre (PSU) 6-3, 6-3
Sofiya Chekhlystova (PSU) def. Siera Shimizu (PUR) 6-2, 6-0
Zela Dovnik (PUR) def. Karly Friedland (PSU) 6-4, 5-7, 2-6
Samantha Smith (PSU) def. Rut Galdino (PUR) 6-4, 7-6(2)
Alexandra Nielsen (PSU) def. Zeynep Naz Ozturk (PUR) 7-5, 6-0
Order of finish: 3,2,1,4,6,5
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