April 20, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s tennis team came away as victors on Sunday at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. The Hawkeyes defeated Penn State on senior day, 6-1.
“I feel good about how the team competed today, and am glad we could send Ruth out on a high note,” said UI head coach Katie Dougherty. “She’s been incredible for us these past two years and it was great to get a win for her today.”
The Hawkeyes got things rolling early on by jumping out to a 1-0 lead after a pair of victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions.
Senior Ruth Seaborne and junior Ellen Silver gave Iowa its first doubles victory of the day with an 8-4 victory at the No. 3 position. Sunday marked the first time Seaborne and Silver have played together in their Hawkeye careers.
Junior Morven McCulloch and sophomore Annette Dohanics clinched the doubles point for Iowa with an 8-4 win over Penn State’s Carmen Sandor and Katherine Whiteaway at the No. 2 slot.
Juniors Shelby Talcott and Katie Zordani trailed 6-5 at No. 1 doubles before having their match abandoned.
The Hawkeyes momentum carried over to singles as they took five-of-six matches.
Freshman Aimee Tarun picked up her fifth win of the season to put Iowa up 2-0 with a quick victory at the No. 6 position, 6-0, 6-1. Zordani followed up with a straight-set victory of her own at the No. 4 slot, extending the Hawkeyes lead to 3-0. Zordani finished the regular season with a record of 9-7.
Penn State managed to pick up its only win of the day with a victory at the No. 2 position from Katia Blik.
Playing in her last match at the HTRC, Seaborne sealed the victory for the Hawkeyes with a straight-set victory at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 7-5. The win moves Seaborne to 8-3 in conference play and 15-6 overall this season.
With Iowa up, 4-1, Dohanics picked up a win by default to finish the regular season undefeated at the No. 5 position (6-0) while also extending her win streak to four matches. Dohanics took the first set over Penn State’s Katherine Whiteaway, 6-1, and led the second set, 4-3.
Iowa picked up its last win of the day from McCulloch after a back and forth matchup at the No. 3 position with Penn State’s Carmen Sandor. McCulloch won the first set, 7-5, before dropping the second set, 5-7. McCulloch was able to come away as the victor in a ten-point tiebreaker set, 10-7.
“This was a great match to end with going into the Big ten Championships,” said Dougherty. “We came out strong in doubles and were able to pick five first-sets and put ourselves in a good position.”
With the regular season all wrapped up, the Hawkeyes travel to Evanston, Ill on Thursday to begin postseason play at the Big Ten Championships (April 24-27) on the campus of Northwestern University.
Iowa 6, Penn State 1
Singles:
1. #75 Ruth Seaborne (IOWA) def. Dasha Sapogova (PSU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Katia Blik (PSU) def. Shelby Talcott (IOWA) 6-2, 6-4
3. Morven McCulloch (IOWA) def. Carmen Sandor (PSU) 7-5, 5-7, 10-7
4. Katie Zordani (IOWA) def. Taylor Shukow (PSU) 6-0, 6-4
5. Annette Dohanics (IOWA) def. Katherine Whiteaway (PSU) 6-1, 4-3, (Win by default)
6. Aimee Tarun (IOWA) def. Lisa Petruzillo (PSU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles:
1. Shelby Talcott/Katie Zordani (IOWA) vs. Katia Blik/Dasha Sapogova (PSU) 5-6, unfinished
2. Annette Dohanics/Morven McCulloch (IOWA) def. Carmen Sandor/Katherine Whiteaway (PSU) 8-4
3. Ellen Silver/Ruth Seaborne (IOWA) def. Marie Bedard/Taylor Shukow (PSU) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,4,2,1,5,3)