Women’s Tennis Hits the Road for Two Big Ten MatchesWomen’s Tennis Hits the Road for Two Big Ten Matches

Women’s Tennis Hits the Road for Two Big Ten Matches

The Nittany Lions will meet Illinois on Saturday, April 5 before battling Northwestern the following day

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women’s tennis team (13-5, 4-4 B1G) is back on the road for matchups with Illinois (9-10, 4-4 B1G) on Saturday, April 5 and Northwestern (10-10, 3-5 B1G) the next day. Both matches are scheduled for a 1 p.m. start. 

The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 42 in the latest ITA rankings, up from 53 a week ago.  

In Case You Missed It 

  • Penn State split contests against No. 14 USC and No. 24 UCLA this past weekend. The Nittany Lions took down the Trojans, 4-3, on Friday, March 28 before dropping to the Bruins, 4-0, on Sunday. 
  • The win over USC was the highest-ranked win for the Blue & White in at least 20 years. 
  • On court one singles, Olivia Dorner picked up the team’s first ranked singles victory of the season, a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over No. 46 Grace Piper. Against UCLA, she reached a third set in her match with No. 29 Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer. The match went unfinished with a score of 7-5, 0-6, 0-1. 
  • Grigoras earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week for her strong play. At the third spot, she defeated USC’s Lily Fairclough, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. She was a game short of taking down UCLA’s No. 38 Kate Fakih when the match was stopped with a score of 6-4, 5-3.  

Scouting Report – Illinois 

  • The Fighting Illini hold a 9-10 (4-4 B1G) record this season. The team ranks No. 51 in the ITA rankings. 
  • McKenna Schaefbauer plays on court one for Illinois, holding a 5-9 (1-4 B1G) dual record. Dorner and Schaefbauer met in the prequalifying round of the ITA All-American Championships. Dorner defeated her, 6-4, 6-1.  
  • Megan Heuser has the most dual wins on the team, boasting an 8-6 (4-2 B1G) record on court two.  
  • Heuser pairs with Kida Ferrari for a 6-10 (3-4 B1G) record on the top spot for doubles.  

Scouting Report – Northwestern 

  • The Wildcats enter the weekend with a 10-10 (3-5 B1G) record and rank No. 47 in the ITA rankings. 
  • Sydney Pratt is ranked No. 99 according to ITA. She boasts a 13-1 record across courts two through six. Her most common spot is court four where she is 6-0. She is 3-1 in Big Ten play. 
  • Erica Jessel stands at No. 122. She holds a 4-6 record on court one and a 2-4 record on court two. In Big Ten competition, she is 1-2.  
  • Pratt and Jessel are 8-7 as a doubles duo. They are 3-5 on court one and 5-2 on court two. 

Series History – Illinois 

  • The Nittany Lions hold a 4-28 record against the Fighting Illini. 
  • Penn State’s last win in the series came on April 10, 2022, a 4-3 result in Happy Valley. 
  • The Blue & White’s last road win against Illinois came on April 7, 2007, in another 4-3 decision. 

Series History – Northwestern 

  • With an 0-31 record all-time against the Wildcats, Penn State is seeking its first ever win over Northwestern.  

Follow along with the Nittany Lions on X, @PennStateWTEN, and on Instagram, @pennstatewtennis.