For the Penn State women's tennis team, this weekend's tournaments served as a good opportunity to win showcases for the season.
The Nittany Lions did exactly that, culminating in freshman Lauren McCarthy capturing her first singles title. McCarthy claimed the title yesterday afternoon, but not before the Lions completed a stellar weekend.
Penn State took part in two invitationals, including The University of Maryland Invitational in College Park, Md., and the Cissie Leary Invitational in Philadelphia.
The squad was divided into two groups, each sent to represent Penn State in their respective tournaments. Seniors Sasha Abraham and Katelyn BeVard, along with junior Jenny Shular and sophomore Lauren Holzberg, went to Philadelphia. Sophomores Andreea Niculescu and Dorothy Dohanics headed to College Park, Md., along with freshmen Lauren McCarthy and Sarah Lotto.
Action started on Friday, with both squads putting up impressive performances. In Philadelphia, Abraham and Shular both picked up first round singles victories, with Abraham defeating Columbia's Nina Suda, 6-1, 6-3, and Shular taking down Minnesota's Karina Chiarello, 6-4, 6-4.
BeVard fell in the first round to Minnesota's Danielle Mousseau 6-2, 7-5, along with Holzberg lost to Penn's Yulia Rivelis, 6-1, 6-3, despite having a first round bye.
In College Park, the Lions' doubles matches weren't too friendly, with Niculescu and Lotto falling to LSU's Nicole Kantor and Staten Spencer, 8-1. Dohancis and McCarthy were defeated in doubles in an 8-5 match to Maryland's Julia Graca, and Brooke Rogers.
"We came out shaky in the doubles," assistant coach Katie Dougherty said. "But the freshmen shook it off in the singles."
That they did, with Niculescu beating West Virginia's Stacey Percival, 6-4, 6-4, and Dohancis defeating Maryland's Lisa Miller, 6-0, 6-4. Both Lotto and McCarthy posted wins in their singles matches, with Lotto taking down Maryland's Masha Senic, 6-3, 6-4, and McCarthy gaining a 6-4, 6-0 win over West Virginia's Colleen Speaker.
Saturday was a tough day, however, with only one Penn State win coming from the Maryland Invitational. That win belonged to McCarthy, who posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory over West Virginia's Ashley Constantine.
In Philadelphia, the Lions had a little more success on Saturday than their teammates in Maryland. Abraham scored a singles win over Minnesota's Alex Seaton, 6-1, 6-3, with Holzberg looking quite impressive in her singles win over Minnesota's Karina Chiarelli, 6-1, 3-6, 10-4.
Holzberg went on to defeat Cornell's Nisha Suda 6-4, 6-3, advancing to the consolation final.
Abraham and Holzberg looked sharp in their doubles match, defeating Minnesota's Ida Malmberg 9-7, while BeVard and Shular fell to Minnesota's Lindsay Risebrough and Alex Seaton, 8-6.
Yesterday was the final day, and it proved to be a big one. At the Maryland Invitational, the Penn State wrapped up play with excellent performances, including singles wins by Dohancis, and Lotto. Although these wins were a huge spark for the Lions, there was none bigger than Lauren McCarthy's.
McCarthy earned her first singles title in her first collegiate tournament by defeating Yale's Christine Alford, 6-0, 6-2.
"McCarthy did a great job as a freshman coming out and winning her first title," Dougherty said. "We will look for great things from her throughout the fall season."
