UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.— The Penn State women's tennis team will host a two-game homestand as they welcome Michigan (4-1, 4-0 B1G) on Friday at 2 p.m. and Michigan State (3-2, 3-1 B1G) on Sunday at 10 a.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Michigan: Live stats
Michigan State: Live stats
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions continued a strong start to the season with wins over Rutgers and Maryland last weekend as Penn State improved to 4-1. Penn State also moved to 3-0 on the road for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Penn State came away with a gritty 4-3 road win against Rutgers. Sofiya Chekhlystova (Talinn, Estonia) clinched the victory with a clutch win at No. 2 singles, as Gabby O'Gorman (Gunnedah, N.S. Wales, Australia), and Samantha Smith (Cary, N.C) added singles wins of their own. The Nittany Lions also claimed the doubles point with wins in the No. 1 and 2 spots.
Against Maryland, the Nittany Lions had strong showings in both doubles and singles. Penn State got off to a good start claiming the doubles point with wins in No. 2 and 3. In singles, wins from Cheklystova, Karly Friedland (Hollywood, Fla.), Alexandra Nielsen (Vancouver, BC, Canada), and Olivia Rohrbacher (Sandusky, Ohio) gave the Nittany Lions a comfortable 5-2 victory.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
The Wolverines have won four consecutive matches in conference play after opening up the season with a non-conference loss to #6 Duke. Michigan has been dominant in the Big Ten, only conceding three total points to conference opponents on the season. The Wolverines boast a strong singles lineup with two nationally ranked players, #71 Andrea Cerdan and #101 Alyvia Jones. Additionally, Jaedan Brown remains undefeated in both singles and doubles, with a 5-0 singles record and a 6-0 doubles record with partner Chiara Lommer.
LOOKING INTO THE SPARTANS
The Spartans are seeking to avenge their season-opening loss to the Nittany Lions. Michigan State responded well after the loss, winning four consecutive matches to open Big Ten play before falling to Indiana.
Michigan State carries a balanced singles lineup with Ayshe Can, Lauren Lemonds, and Maja Pietrowicz all boasting 4-1 records. In doubles, the pairing of Samantha Memije and Nicole Stephens hold a 3-0 record to lead the way for the Spartans.
SMITH MAKES HER MARK
Samantha Smith can overtake Jenny Shular (68) for sole possession of second on Penn State's all-time singles win list with one win this weekend. Olga Novikova remains atop with list with 95.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will look forward to a pair of road matches following this weekend as they will face Iowa on Mar. 5 and Nebraska on Mar. 7.
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.
