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Women’s Tennis Downs No. 40 VCU
The Nittany Lions topples its second ranked opponent in a row
Richmond,
Va. – The Penn State women’s tennis team (4-2, 1-0) upset No. 40
Virginia Commonwealth (8-2, 3-0), 4-3, to earn its second straight
victory over a ranked opponent and fourth win in a row. The Nittany
Lions defeated the Rams for the first time since the spring of 1997.
The
match began with all three doubles matches taking the court. In the
number one slot, Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) and Chelsea Utting
(Peachtree City, Ga.) teamed up to defeat the sister duo of Alex Bara
and Ana Bara, 8-5. However, VCU earned victories in the second and
third doubles spots to earn the point and take the early lead, 1-0. In
a close third match, Marie-Frederique Bedard (Montreal, Canada) and
Nina Sertic (Zagrab, Croatia) were bested by Alena Gerasimova and
Salome Kvitashvili, 8-5. Last to finish was the pairing of Fernanda
Perrotta (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Carmen Sandor (Toronto, Canada).
The duo pushed Josefin Hjertquist and Daria Yakauleva to the
limit, but ultimately fell, 8-6.
In
singles action, No. 96 Januskova breezed by Ana Bara in the number one
slot, 6-3, 6-3, to tie the match at 1-1. Utting faced No. 120 Alex Bara
in a rematch from the ITA Regional tournament this fall. In that match
Utting lost 6-2, 6-0, but this time the sophomore came out victorious
for revenge, besting Bara, 6-4, 6-2.
In the number
four slot, Perrotta fell to Hjertquist, 6-3, 6-3. Next to finish
was Sandor in the third spot. The sophomore was bested by Yakauleva,
6-3, 6-1. With the score VCU 3 and Penn State 2, the Nittany Lions were
forced into a must win situation in the last two matches.
Sertic
faced Marketa Placha in the six singles spot. The senior earned a close
victory in the first set, 7-6 (8), and then easily won the second set,
6-1, to tie the match at 3-3.
With the match
entirely in her hands and the rest of her Nittany Lion teammates
watching, Bedard rallied from a first set loss to defeat Olga Terteac,
3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and clinch the upset for Penn State.
“I
am proud of the team today,” said Head Coach Dawna Denny. “VCU didn’t
give us anything and we had to earn every point. This team has bought
into our system and we are becoming extremely mentally tough. Marie
(Bedard) thrived under the pressure and played very disciplined tennis.”
The
Nittany Lions return home for eight straight home matches spanning from
February 17 through March 25. On Fri., Feb. 17, Penn State will take on
Pennsylvania at 5 p.m. After that, PSU hosts Tulane on Sun., Feb. 19 at
10 a.m.
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