Tennis Falls to Penn State, 5-2

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Sophomore Anna Smith and junior Daniela Dankanych each earned singles wins Sunday but visiting Penn State (6-2, 0-0 Big Ten) earned a 5-2 win over Marshall (2-7, 0-1 C-USA) at the Huntington Tennis Club.

"We had two good singles wins today," head coach John Mercer said. "Anna and Dani did a great job coming back after falling behind early. They made the necessary adjustments needed to win those matches for us."

The Herd's doubles play showing was better than it had been for most of the season but it still did not result in capturing the doubles point. Anna Smith and Daniela Dankanych were defeated by Penn State's Gabby O'Gorman and Olivia Rohrbacher, 6-1, while Liz Stefancic and Madi Ballow lost to Chelsea Sawyer and Frederikke Svarre, 6-4. Victoria Walter and Matilde Mulatero were trailing Samantha Smith and Shannon Hanley,4-3, in their match that went unfinished.

Penn State won three of the first four finished singles matches to clinch the overall match win. Sawyer earned a 6-4, 6-2 win over Walter, while Stefancic was defeated by Hanley, 6-2, 6-3. Svarre clinched the match for the visiting Nittany Lions with a 6-4, 7-6(2) win over Ballow. Mulatero was also defeated by Sydney Weinberg in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.

Dankanych earned a straight-sets win over Rohrbacher, 7-6(4), 6-2, while Smith rallied from down a set to defeat O'Gorman, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.

"This is a step in the right direction," Mercer said. "Hopefully we keep learning and getting better each match."

RESULTS
Singles
1. Anna Smith (Marshall) def. Gabby O'Gorman (Penn State); 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. Daniela Dankanych (Marshall) def. Olivia Rohrbacher (Penn State); 7-6(4), 6-2
3. Chelsea Sawyer (Penn State) def. Victoria Walter (Marshall); 6-4, 6-2
4. Frederikke Svarre (Penn State) def. Madi Ballow (Marshall); 6-4, 7-6(2)
5. Shannon Hanley (Penn State) def. Liz Stefancic (Marshall); 6-2, 6-3
6. Sydney Weinberg (Penn State) def. Matilde Mulatero (Marshall); 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 3,5,2,4,1,6
Doubles
1. Gabby O'Gorman/Olivia Rohrbacher (Penn State) def. Anna Smith/Daniela Dankanych (Marshall); 6-1
2. Chelsea Sawyer/Frederikke Svarre (Penn State) def. Madi Ballow/Liz Stefancic (Marshall); 6-4
3. Samantha Smith/Shannon Hanley (Penn state) vs. Matilde Mulatero/Victoria Walter (Marshall); 4-3, unifinshed
Order of finish: 1,2

UP NEXT
The Herd has the next 11 days off before playing at FIU on Mar. 1 Marshall follows that with a neutral-site match against North Texas on Mar. 2.

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Madi Ballow

Daniela Dankanych

Matilde Mulatero

Anna Smith

Liz Stefancic

Victoria Walter