by Abbey Baltich

ODU Women's Tennis Comes Up Short to Penn State in Home Opener

Old Dominion women’s tennis dropped its home opener to Penn State, 4-3, on Wednesday afternoon.

ODU Women's Tennis Comes Up Short to Penn State in Home OpenerODU Women's Tennis Comes Up Short to Penn State in Home Opener

NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion women’s tennis dropped its home opener to Penn State, 4-3, on Wednesday afternoon.

"Tough day for the Monarchs," Head Coach Dominic Manilla said. "We had some good opportunities that we let slip through our fingers. I did see some improvements in the areas that we addressed after our previous match, so I was proud of those efforts. I’m looking forward to practice tomorrow, being back with the team, and preparing for Wake."

Doubles matches began in Old Dominion’s favor after No. 45 Lidiia Rasskouskaia and Ulyana Romanova defeated Patricia Grigoras and Maiko Uchijima, 6-4, on court three. However, Penn State’s Brianna Baldi and Maria Ciubotaru responded with a 6-4 win over Uladzislava Manzhos and Marina Markina on court two. For the doubles point, No. 75 Victoria Matasova and Kira Matushkina fell in a close match on court one against No. 72 Olivia Dorner and Maelie Monfils (7-6), giving PSU the first point of the day.

Dorner carried her momentum into the singles matches, where she downed Rasskouskaia on court five (6-3, 6-1). Teammate Uchijima followed suit with a 6-3, 7-6 win over No. 81 Matasova on court two, though No. 4 Manzhos grabbed ODU’s first point of the match after defeating Baldi (6-0, 2-6, 6-3). For the win, Penn State’s Monfils bested No. 65 Matushkina, 7-5, 7-5, to give the Nittany Lions the victory.

After Penn State’s win, Romanova downed Grigoras on court three (6-2, 1-6, 7-6), while Markina followed suit with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Ciubotaru on court six.

Old Dominion remains home to host Wake Forest this Saturday, Feb. 6 at 12 p.m. in the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.

 

Doubles:

  1. No. 72 Olivia Dorner and Maelie Monfils (PSU) def. No. 75 Kira Matushkina and Victoria Matasova (ODU) 7-6
  2. Brianna Baldi and Maria Ciubotaru (PSU) def. Uladzislava Manzhos and Marina Markina (ODU) 6-4 
  3. No. 45 Lidiia Rasskouskaia and Ulyana Romanova (ODU) def. Patricia Grigoras and Maiko Uchijima (PSU) 6-4

Singles:

  1. Maelie Monfils (PSU) def. No. 65 Kira Matushkina (ODU) 7-5, 7-5
  2. Maiko Uchijima (PSU) def. No. 81 Victoria Matasova (ODU) 6-3, 7-6
  3. Ulyana Romanova (ODU) def. Patricia Grigoras (PSU) 6-2, 1-6, 7-6
  4. Uladzislava Manzhos (ODU) def. Brianna Baldi (PSU) 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 
  5. Olivia Dorner (PSU) def. Lidiia Rasskouskaia (ODU) 6-3, 6-1
  6. Marina Markina (ODU) def. Maria Ciubotaru (PSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2