ABINGTON, Pa. – The Penn State Abington women's tennis team's upset bid of NEAC foe Penn State Berks fell just short Saturday afternoon.
Both teams were undefeated heading into today's match until Berks took a 2-1 lead after the doubles competition and after several close matches in singles play, Abington fell to a 6-3 decision, snapping Abington's six straight conference wins. Berks remained perfect in the NEAC with a 7-0 record. However the loss did not hurt the Abington's playoff chances for, having already clinched a playoff berth with the No. 2 seed in the NEAC playoffs after defeating Wells College last week.
Abington dropped the doubles point to start the Saturday match.
Jenny Abraham and
Alexandra Murianka battled a tough contests but came up short in the tiebreak for the 9-8 (7-3) loss).
Evgenia Nigay and
Lori Phillips were outmatched by their opponents and dropped their doubles match 8-1 at No. 2.
Olya Popili and Carley Powell mustered up a much needed point for Abington after edging Berks' Kristina Hatter and Taylor Keselica in a 8-7 (8-1) tiebreaker.
In singles play, Abington started out strong but began to struggle in finishing as Abraham dropped a close contest at No. 1 singles with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 decision before Phillips was plagued by a leg injury, forcing her to retire the No. 2 slot. Popili managed to pick up the second point for Abington on the day after coming back from behind to defeat Sam Warga in three sets with a 6-7 (1-7), 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 3 singles.
Berks went on to sweep No. 4 in straight sets while Abington's Murianka refused to go down without a fight to Kristina Hatter, dropping No. 5 spot with a 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 decision. Powell collected the final point for Abington at No. 6 after needing a third set to defeat Gloria Kim 6-0, 1-6, 10-8.
On the men's side, Abington managed to managed sweep all but one point over Berks for the 8-1 victory to clinch the third seed with a 4-2 record in the conference, improving to 12-6 on the year.
The day started with Abington sweeping all three doubles matches, allowing just six games.
Jordan Domsky and partner
Matthew Wolff won their third straight doubles match with a 8-1 victory at No. 3 doubles.
In singles play, Domsky took on Berks' Drew Weinhold, who entered today's match with a five match winning streak, but could not fend off the late attack, losing 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 at No. 1 singles.
Nigel Hopkinson,
Steven Ly and
Ross Raddi swept No. 2-4 in straight sets to extend a 6-1 lead for the Abington victory.
Monte Dunson valiantly fought his way through at No. 5 singles to push for a 7-5, 6-3 win, while Wolff completed the final point of the day in straight set over Berks' Jerrad Seifrit.
Both squad will have one week to prepare for the NEAC tournament at the Birchwood Tennis Club in Clarks Summit, Pa. The Nittany Lions will play as the No. 2 seed for the women's and No. 3 seed for the men's. The tournament is set to take place on Friday, May 25
th.
WOMEN'S TENNIS RESULTS
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Singles competition |
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1. Crystal Hitz (PSBW1213) def. Jenny Abraham (PSAW1213) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 |
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2. Elizabeth Kehm (PSBW1213) def. Lori Phillips (PSAW1213) 2-2, retired |
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3. Olya Popili (PSAW1213) def. Sam Warga (PSBW1213) 6-7 (1-7), 7-5, 6-3 |
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4. Allison Monkman (PSBW1213) def. Evgenia Nigay (PSAW1213) 6-1, 6-4 |
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5. Kristina Hatter (PSBW1213) def. Alexandra Murianka (PSAW1213) 4-6, 7-5, 11-9 |
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6. Carly Powell (PSAW1213) def. Gloria Kim (PSBW1213) 6-0, 1-6, 10-8 |
MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS
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Singles competition |
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1. Drew Weinhold (PSBM1213) def. Jordan Domsky (PSAM1213) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 |
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2. Nigel Hopkinson (PSAM1213) def. George Chacko (PSBM1213) 6-3, 6-4 |
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3. Steven Ly (PSAM1213) def. Steve Roughton (PSBM1213) 6-2, 6-1 |
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4. Ross Raddi (PSAM1213) def. Angel Negron (PSBM1213) 6-0, 6-1 |
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5. Monte Dunson (PSAM1213) def. Creston Smoker (PSBM1213) 7-5, 6-3 |
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6. Matthew Wolff (PSAM1213) def. Jerrad Seifrit (PSBM1213) 6-1, 6-0 |
