12-Seed Penn State Meets Fifth-Seeded and No. 23 Washington in First Round of Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament Presented by Allstate12-Seed Penn State Meets Fifth-Seeded and No. 23 Washington in First Round of Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament Presented by Allstate

12-Seed Penn State Meets Fifth-Seeded and No. 23 Washington in First Round of Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament Presented by Allstate

The Nittany Lions and Huskies are scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. start at the Auer Tennis Complex in Columbus, Ohio

(12) Penn State vs. No. 23 (5) Washington
Auer Tennis Complex | Columbus, Ohio

(12) Penn State vs. No. 23 (5) Washington

(12) Penn State
(12) Penn State

14-10 (5-8 Big Ten)

VS
No. 23 (5) Washington
No. 23 (5) Washington

18-4 (9-4 Big Ten)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - 12-seed Penn State women’s tennis will face five-seed and No. 23 Washington in the first round of the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament on Thursday. 

The Nittany Lions (14-10, 5-8 Big Ten) will face the Huskies (18-4, 9-4 Big Ten) at 11:30 a.m. at Auer Tennis Complex on the campus of the Ohio State University. The winner will take on fourth-seeded and No. 19 UCLA the next day.  

PSU enters the final weekend of the regular season ranked No. 56 in the ITA poll. Olivia Dorner and Maelie Monfils check in at No. 86 in this week’s ITA doubles rankings. The tandem entered the poll at No. 89 last week after picking up two ranked wins. Dorner and Monfils are 9-4 this spring with five of those victories coming against ranked opponents. Counting the fall, they have six ranked wins.

 

 

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TOURNEY TIME

TOURNEY TIME

  • Under head coach Alexandra McIntyre, the Nittany Lions have been a mainstay in the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament. Of her seven seasons at the helm, Penn State reached the postseason in the last six, with COVID-19 canceling most of the league slate and the entirety of the conference tournament in 2020. 
  • In the four seasons prior to McIntyre’s arrival to Happy Valley, the team missed the Big Ten’s postseason event.  
  • Penn State’s last win at the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament came in 2024, a 4-3 triumph over Iowa. Current Nittany Lions Jordina Cegarra and Dorner both earned singles wins in the victory to send PSU to the quarterfinals. 
  • Since 2005, the Blue & White have made four other appearances in the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament quarterfinals. The Nittany Lions won their first round matchup against Indiana in 2015, 4-2. Prior to that, Penn State reached the quarterfinals three consecutive seasons from 2005-07. The team downed Ohio State, 4-1, in 2005, Minnesota, 4-3, in 2006 and Michigan State, 4-2, in 2007. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

  • Penn State split its final weekend of the regular season at home. The Nittany Lions fell, 4-2, against No. 22 Washington before responding with a 4-1 victory over Oregon on Senior Day presented by the Penn State Alumni Association to clinch a berth into the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament presented by Allstate. 
  • No. 86 Dorner and Monfils won their fifth Big Ten doubles match on court one with a 6-2 triumph over Washington’s Erika Matsuda and Karolina Kozakova. 
  • Dorner completed a 2-0 outing against the Huskies with a court four singles win against Marie Weissheim, 6-3, 6-3. The senior finished the Big Ten slate with a 5-2 singles record, 11-3 overall in dual matches.  
  • Monfils earned her third court one win in Big Ten competition, seventh overall, against Oregon. She took down Tilde Jagare, 6-1, 6-2, at the top spot. 
  • Maria Daciana Ciubotaru clinched her seventh Penn State win in a row against the Ducks. Ciubotaru captured a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Bridget Mihulka for her fifth Big Ten singles win, all of which clinched matches.  
  • Patricia Grigoras improved to 7-5 in Big Ten action against Oregon as she defeated Olivia Symons, 6-4, 6-2, on court two. 
  • Maiko Uchijima secured a Senior Day singles win over the Ducks’ Virginia Crocker, 6-1, 6-3, on court three. 
  • Brianna Baldi secured her third Big Ten singles win against Washington as she downed Kozakova, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), at the six spot. 

ACROSS THE NET  

  • Washington is ranked No. 23 in the latest ITA poll with an 18-4 (9-4 Big Ten) record. The team split its final weekend of the regular season with a win at Penn State, 4-2, before falling to No. 5 Ohio State, 4-2. 
  • The Huskies finished tied for fourth in the Big Ten standings are the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament presented by Allstate. 
  • UW’s other Big Ten wins during the regular season came against Rutgers, Maryland, Oregon, Iowa, Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The team dropped contests at Nebraska, No. 12 USC and No. 18 UCLA.  
  • The Huskies have a ranked doubles pair in No. 85 Matsuda and Carina Syrtveit. The duo is 10-3 on court one this spring with three Big Ten wins. 
  • Matsuda is No. 92 in the singles rankings with a 7-5 (3-5 Big Ten) record on court one in the spring.   
  • No. 52 Reece Carter is another ranked singles player for Washington. She boasts a 17-1 record on court two this spring with nine Big Ten victories. Carter recently defeated Ohio State’s No. 4 Luciana Perry. 

SERIES HISTORY 

  • Penn State and Washington met for the first time ever on April 17 as the Huskies play in their second season as a Big Ten Conference institution.  
  • Washington took a 4-2 victory at Sarni Tennis Center. 
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