April 22, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - The Penn State women's tennis team (4-16, 0-8 Big Ten) returns to Happy Valley this weekend to host No. 6 Northwestern (16-6, 7-1 Big Ten) on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Wisconsin (7-14, 2-6 Big Ten) on Sunday at 10 a.m. Seniors Lauren McCarthy (Danbury, Conn.) and Sarah Lotto (Toronto, Ontario) will be playing their final career matches in Happy Valley. They will be honored during a brief ceremony prior to Sunday's match against the Badgers.
Last weekend, Penn State dropped conference matches to No. 38 Indiana and No. 26 Illinois on the road. Against the Hoosiers, junior Denisa Zobeideh (Weston, Fla.) snatched a 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 victory over Myriam Sopel in fourth singles. The win was Zobeideh's third singles victory of the year.
No. 6 Northwestern comes into this weekend with three nationally ranked singles players, No. 12 Maria Mosolova, No. 39 Samantha Murray and No. 104 Lauren Lui. Lui is 18-2 overall in dual matches and 7-0 in Big Ten singles. Northwestern also have five nationally ranked doubles tandems. Head coach Claire Pollard is in her 12th season with the Wildcats and has guided her team to a Big Ten championship every year during her tenure.
Wisconsin is led by Hannah Berner, who holds a 13-7 singles mark this spring. The freshman upset No. 63 Monica Gorny of No. 1 Duke earlier this season, 0-6, 6-2, 10-6. Lone senior Katya Mirnova is riding a five-match unbeaten streak and is 9-12 on the year. In doubles action, Mirnova and sophomore Angela Chupa are 8-4 playing in the No. 3 and 3 spots. Head coach Brian Fleishman is in his third season with the Badgers.
Next weekend, the Nittany Lions travel to the University of Iowa to compete in the Big Ten Tournament. Play begins in Iowa City on Thursday, April 29 and continues through Sunday, May 2.