PRINCETON, N.J. – No. 36 Penn State Women’s Tennis (9-1) defeated the No. 48 Princeton Tigers (6-4) in a 4-2 matchup on the road. At the sixth singles spot, freshman Maria Daciana Ciubotaru fought a strong three-set match to clinch the win for the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions took two out of three doubles matches to earn the point. Playing at the top spot, No. 77 Olivia Dorner and Maiko Uchijima defeated Eva Elbaz and Pearlie Zhang in a solid 6-2 match. Yvonne Zuffova and Jelena Vico took the third spot, winning their match over Alice Ferlito and Bella Chhiv, 6-4. At second doubles, Jordina Cegarra and Patricia Grigoras fell to Tsehay Driscoll and Yichen Zhao, 6-2.
Three singles victories earned Penn State the win. At the third spot, Grigoras defeated Zhao, 6-2, 6-4, in a strong match. At fifth singles, Zuffova got the 6-3, 6-4 win over Zhang. Maria Daciana Cibotaru stepped up at the sixth spot, clinching the match for Penn State with a tremendous 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Anna Nguyen.
At first singles, Dorner dropped a tough match to Ferlito, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. On Court 2, Uchijima fell 6-4, 3-6 6-1 in a tough matchup against Chhiv. Vico took court four and was tied, 7-5, 4-6, 4-4, with Elbaz, when her match went unfinished as Penn State had already clinched the match.
Penn State will begin Big Ten play at home against Indiana on Friday, March 7 at noon and Purdue on Sunday, March 9 at 10 a.m. Both matches will be held at the Indoor Tennis Center.
Follow along with the Nittany Lions on X, @PennStateWTEN, and on Instagram, @pennstatewtennis.
Results
Doubles
1. Dorner/Uchijima (PSU) def. Elbaz/Zhang (PRIN) 6-2
2. Driscoll/Zhao (PRIN) def. Cegarra/Grigoras (PSU) 6-2
3. Zuffova/Vico (PSU) def. Ferlito/Chhiv (PRIN) 6-4
Singles
1. Ferlito (PRIN) def. Dorner (PSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
2. Chhiv (PRIN) def. Uchijima (PSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
3. Grigoras (PSU) def. Zhao (PRIN) 6-2, 6-4
4. Vico (PSU) vs. Elbaz (PRIN) 7-5, 4-6, 4-4 (unfinished)
5. Zuffova (PSU) def. Zhang (PRIN) 6-3, 6-4
6. Ciubotaru (PSU) def. Nguyen (PRIN) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2