Penn State women’s tennis earned a 4-2 victory over Maryland on March 27 at the Indoor Tennis Center. With this win, the Nittany Lions improved their record to 11-6 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play, while the Terrapins dropped to 12-3 and 4-2 in conference.
The match was significant as Maryland entered ranked No. 35 in the ITA poll, making it Penn State’s second win over a top-35 opponent this season after previously defeating No. 25 Yale.
In doubles action, Olivia Dorner and Maelie Monfils secured a ranked win by defeating No. 37 Emma Ghirardato and Ema Kovacevic on court one with a score of 6-3. Patricia Grigoras and Maiko Uchijima clinched the doubles point for Penn State with another 6-3 victory on court two against Diya Challa and Oliwia Orlinska. The Terrapins took court three as Tamari Gagoshidze and Magdalena Baniak defeated Jordina Cegarra and Maria Daciana Ciubotaru.
During singles play, Monfils fell to Orlinska after taking the first set but dropping the next two (4-6, 6-0, 6-4). Uchijima recorded her first Big Ten singles win of the season by overcoming Baniak (2-6, 6-3, 6-2), giving Penn State an edge. After Grigoras lost her match to Ghirardato (5-7, 6-1, 7-5), Dorner put Penn State back ahead with a comeback victory over Challa (2-6, 7-6 [7–4], 6–2). Ciubotaru then clinched her fifth match of the season—and both Big Ten victories—with a dominant performance against Kovacevic (6–3, 6–0).
Brianna Baldi’s singles match against Lucia Donnelly went unfinished after splitting sets.
Looking ahead, Penn State will host Rutgers on Sunday at the Indoor Tennis Center with first serve scheduled for 3 p.m.
