Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Penn State
@Herd_Tennis Blanks Penn State, Continues Dominance Over B1G
2/24/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall women's tennis team continued its dominance against Big Ten Conference opponents Friday evening, defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions, 4-0 at the Huntington Tennis Club.
The Herd improved to 6-4 with the win. Penn State dropped to 3-5 with the loss. The Herd is 3-0 against teams from the Big Ten this season and shut out all three opponents. Marshall defeated Wisconsin and Minnesota, winning 7-0 in both matches.
The Herd took started the match by taking the doubles point. The Herd is now 6-1 this season when winning the doubles point. Derya Turhan and Anna Pomyatinskaya fell in their match against Katia Blik and Devan McCluskey, 6-3. Rachael Morales and Maddie Silver snapped a three-match losing streak with a 6-4 win over Bennett Dunn and Dasha Sapogova. Stephanie Smith and Daniela Dankanych rallied from down 3-0 to win their match over Samantha Smith and Shannon Hanley, 6-4, clinching the doubles point for the Herd.
The Herd continued its strong play into the singles competition, taking all three completed matches. Silver opened singles play with a 6-4, 6-4 win over McCluskey. Turhan followed suit with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Blik. Pomyatinskaya sealed the win for the Herd by coming back from down a set to defeat Smith, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1. Smith won the first set of her match in a tiebreaker against Sapogova and was trailing in the second set, 4-3, but her match went unfinished. Morales dropped the first set of her match against Hanley and was tied at 3-3 in the second set but her match went unfinished. Dankanych and Dunn had just started their match when Pomyatinskaya's three-set win ended the match.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Katia Blik/Devan McCluskey (Penn State) def. Derya Turhan/Anna Pomyatinskaya (Marshall); 6-3
2. Maddie Silver/Rachael Morales (Marshall) def. Bennett Dunn/Dasha Sapogova (Penn State); 6-4
3. Stephanie Smith/Daniela Dankanych (Marshall) def. Samantha Smith/Shannon Hanley (Penn State); 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. No. 122 Derya Turhan def. No. 89 Katia Blik (Penn State); 6-2, 7-6 (4)
2. No. 82 Maddie Silver (Marshall) def. Devan McCluskey (Penn State); 6-4, 6-4
3. Stephanie Smith (Marshall) vs. Dasha Sapogova (Penn State); 7-6 (6), 4-5, unfinished
4. Anna Pomyatinskaya (Marshall) def. Samantha Smith (Penn State); 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Rachael Morales (Marshall) vs. Shannon Hanley (Penn State); 5-7, 3-3, unfinished
6. Daniela Dankanych (Marshall) vs. Bennett Dunn (Penn State); 1-0, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1, 4
COACH'S CORNER
Quote from head coach John Mercer
On the matchââ'¬Â¦
Tonight was a great bounce back win for us after last weekend. We came out and showed a lot of composure. We got into some tough situations tonight and showed that we are learning to handle those situations better. We just have to keep learning from every match we play and tonight we just seemed to put everything together and win some key games and points to pull out the win. Penn State is a good team. They have beaten WVU and have some solid wins against teams that we have lost to, so it's a great win for us. We're looking forward to Sunday against Columbia.
#ONEHERD
For the latest information on Marshall women's tennis, be sure to follow @Herd_Tennis on Twitter, @herdtennis on Instagram and Herd Tennis on Facebook.
UP NEXT
The Herd continues its five-match homestand Sunday morning when it takes on the Columbia Lions at 11 a.m. at the Huntington Tennis Club.
Players Mentioned
