Morgantown, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s tennis team opened the match by sweeping doubles, but ultimately fell to Penn State, 4-3, in State College on Sunday.
“Overall, we had a pretty positive start to the season,” fourth-year coach Miha Lisac said. “In both matches, yesterday and today, we battled well which is absolutely what we were looking for starting the season off. Unfortunately, in both matches we weren’t able to get over the hump. Today we weren’t able to find that final push.
WVU opened the match with a strong start, sweeping doubles play to earn the doubles point. Senior Kaja Mrgole and freshman Christina Jordan bested Penn State’s Katia Blik and Devan McCluskey, 6-3, at the first position. The tandem of Habiba Shaker and Lyn Yuen Choo defeated Jacqueline Zuhse and Bennett Dunn, 6-4, at the No. 2 position to secure the doubles point. In the third slot, Paula Goetz and Yvon Martinez dropped Penn State’s Samantha Smith and Shannon Hanley in a close match, 7-6.
“We did get over the hump in doubles today. I thought that was a little bit better than we were yesterday.”
Jordan opened singles play with a Mountaineer win, as she topped Penn State’s Smith in two sets, 6-1 and 6-4, at the No. 4 position. PSU’s McCluskey bested Shaker in three sets (2-6, 6-1, 6-4) at the first position to give the Nittany Lions their first point of the day. At No. 2, Mrgole dropped Zuhse, 6-3, 4-6 and 6-4, to extend WVU’s lead to 3-1.
Penn State then went on the win the final three matches to secure the contest at 4-3. At No.3, Goetz rallied after losing a close first set to force a third set, but ultimately fell to Dasha Sapogova, 7-5, 6-1 and 2-6. Choo fell to Hanley in two sets, 6-3 and 6-1 at the fifth position. Penn State’s Dunn was the hero for the Nittany Lions as she topped Martinez 6-3 and 6-3 at No.6 position.
WVU will open its home slate next weekend with back to back matches on Saturday, January 28, against Akron and on Sunday, January 29, against Maryland. Saturday’s match is slated to begin at 11 a.m., while Sunday’s match will begin at noon. Both matches will be held at the Ridgeview Racquet Club in Morgantown. Live stats and a recap of both matches will be available on WVUsports.com.
Singles Competition:
No. 1: Devan McCluskey (PSU) def. Habiba Shaker (WVU) – 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2: Kaja Mrgole (WVU) def. Jacqueline Zuhse (PSU) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
No. 3: Samantha Smith (PSU) def. Paula Goetz (WVU) – 7-5, 1-6, 6-2
No. 4: Christina Jordan (WVU) def. Samantha Smith (PSU) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 5: Shannon Hanley (PSU) def. Lyn Yuen Choo (WVU) - 6-3, 6-1
No. 6: Bennett Dunn (PSU) def. Yvon Martinez (WVU) - 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition:
No. 1: Kaja Mrgole/ Christina Jordan (WVU) def. Katia Blik/Devan McCluskey (PSU) - 6-3
No. 2: Habiba Shaker/ Lyn Yuen Choo (WVU) def. Jacqueline Zuhse/ Bennett Dunn (PSU) - 6-4
No. 3: Paula Goetz/ Yvon Martinez (WVU) def. Samantha Smith/ Shannon Hanley (PSU) - 7-6
Order of Finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (4, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6)
