Women’s Tennis Travels to the Midwest for Duals Against Iowa and Nebraska

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women’s tennis begins a four-match road stretch this weekend against Iowa and Nebraska. The Nittany Lions (12-6, 3-4 Big Ten) will face the Hawkeyes (9-10, 3-5 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. on Friday at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex before taking on the Cornhuskers (12-5, 5-3 Big Ten) at 11 a.m. on Sunday at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center. 

Penn State is ranked No. 46 in the latest ITA rankings, up five spots after winning both of its contests against Maryland and Rutgers last weekend.  

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

• Penn State went 2-0 last week with victories over Maryland, 4-2, and Rutgers, 4-1, in Happy Valley. The Rutgers match was the team’s first home match played outside at Sarni Tennis Center. 

• The Nittany Lions won the doubles point in both contests, improving to 12-1 when doing so this season. Dorner and Monfils secured court one victories in both matches, including a 6-3 win over Maryland’s No. 37 Emma Ghirardato and Ema Kovacevic. The tandem now has three ranked wins this spring.  

• Dorner completed a 4-0 weekend with two singles victories. Against Maryland on court four, the senior defeated Diya Challa, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. In the Rutgers match, she earned a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Zeynep Ilkner on court three. Dorner owns a 3-1 record in Big Ten play in singles competition. 

• Maria Daciana Ciubotaru clinched both duals with court four and five singles triumphs. She defeated Maryland’s Kovacevic, 6-3, 6-0, on court five and Rutgers’ Stella Schmitz, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, on court four. Ciubotaru has clinched five straight wins for PSU and is 3-1 in Big Ten singles matches. The sophomore has singles victories on five different courts. 

• Ciubotaru paired with Jordina Cegarra for a 6-2 doubles win against Rutgers’ Naomi Karki and Schmitz on court three. 

• Patricia Grigoras and Maiko Uchijima earned a doubles victory over Maryland’s Challa and Oliwia Orlinska, 6-3, at the two spot. Grigoras earned the first Big Ten court one victory of her career in the Rutgers match as she defeated Mai Nguyen, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4). Uchijima secured a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph on court three against Maryland’s Magdalena Baniak. 

ACROSS THE NET 

IOWA 

• Iowa is ranked No. 48 in the ITA poll with a record of 9-10 (3-5 Big Ten). The team split its matches a week ago with a loss to Indiana before besting Purdue.  

• The Hawkeyes are 12th in the Big Ten standings with conference victories over Northwestern, Illinois and Purdue. The win over Purdue snapped a five-match losing skid in Big Ten competition against Michigan State, Michigan, Oregon, No. 21 Washington and Indiana. 

• Iowa’s Daianne Hayashida and Mia Mack are ranked as the No. 49 doubles pair by ITA. The duo is 8-6 on court one this season. 

• Mack is ranked No. 52 in singles with a 13-2 mark on courts one and two. She has won five Big Ten matches in a row at the top spot. 

NEBRASKA 

• Nebraska is No. 50 in ITA rankings. The team enters the weekend with a 12-5 (5-3 Big Ten) record with a matchup against No. 3 Ohio State on Friday before facing Penn State. 

• After losing their first three Big Ten matches against Illinois, Northwestern and Michigan, the Cornhuskers have won five contests in a row over Michigan State, No. 21 Washington, Oregon, Purdue and Indiana. 

• Katie Spencer and Conley Raidt are ranked No. 65 in the ITA doubles rankings. The duo is 3-1 on court one since playing together for the first time on March 20. 

• Maria Taranova is 8-4 on court one, 5-2 in Big Ten play, this spring. Emma Rizzetto has also recorded a court one win this spring. 

SERIES HISTORY 

IOWA 

• Iowa holds a 27-10 advantage against Penn State with the series dating back to 1992. 

• Penn State and Iowa did not play each other a season ago with the last matchup in the series coming at the 2024 Big Ten Tournament, a 4-3 victory for the Nittany Lions. 

• The last matchup in Iowa City was two weeks earlier, which the Hawkeyes took 4-0. 

NEBRASKA 

• Nebraska has a slight 8-5 edge in the series with the first matchup between the two programs happening in 2001. 

• The Nittany Lions and Cornhuskers last met in 2024. Nebraska took a 4-0 win in Lincoln. 

• The last PSU win was in 2023 as the Blue & White took the matchup in Happy Valley by a 4-2 margin.