UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.— The Penn State women's tennis team will play host to a pair of Big Ten opponents, facing Rutgers (1-7, 1-7 B1G) on Friday at 3 p.m. and Maryland (0-8, 0-8 B1G) on Sunday at 10 a.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Rutgers: Live stats
Maryland: Live stats
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions only had one match last weekend losing 6-1 to #10 Ohio State at the Indoor Tennis Center.
Penn State got off to a rough start in doubles as they were forced to forfeit in the No. 2 spot due to injury and proceeded to lose the doubles point. The Buckeyes went on to win in the first five singles slots and freshman Alina Lebedeva (Moscow, Russia) secured the sole point for the Nittany Lions in her second career singles victory.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
After losing the first seven games of the season, Rutgers secured its first victory last Sunday with a 4-3 win over Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights also played a tightly contested match with the Nittany Lions on Feb. 20, with Penn State securing a 4-3 victory and beating Rutgers for the first time since 2016.
The Scarlet Knights lineup features an undefeated duo with Daira Cardenas and Jaci Cochrane holding a 3-0 record at the No. 3 spot. Rutgers has struggled in singles with Chloe Brown being the top performer with a 3-5 record.
LOOKING INTO THE TERRAPINS
Maryland has yet to find the win column this season, losing its first eight matches all against Big Ten competition. Penn State took the last meeting between these two schools in a 5-2 win for the first Nittany Lion victory against the Terrapins since 2015.
Despite the team's struggles, #89 Ayana Akli has been a force this season with a 7-1 record at the No. 1 spot. Eva Alexandrova has also had a standout season for Maryland with a 5-2 singles record. Akli and Alexandrova also unite to form the Terrapins best doubles pairing with a 3-1 record thus far.
UP NEXT
Penn State will travel to Michigan next weekend for a match against Michigan on Mar. 26 and Michigan State on Mar. 28.
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.
