University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Penn State
Players Mentioned
Minnesota Upsets No. 6 Seed Penn State 4-3, Advances to Big Ten Quarterfinals
4/29/2021 8:33:00 PM | Tennis
The Gophers will face No. 3 seed Northwestern Friday at Noon CT.
Madison, WI. - The No. 11 seed Gophers kept their season alive on Thursday with a 4-3 win over No. 6 seed Penn State in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota will face No. 3 seed Northwestern in the quarterfinals, tomorrow at Noon CT.
Doubles Play
The Gophers captured the doubles point in thrilling fashion as Rachel Hanford and Dalila Said captured a 7-6 victory in the deciding third match. After Juliet Zhang and Ekin Ercetin picked up their second straight doubles victory and Penn State took the doubles match at No. 3, the stage was set for an exciting doubles finish.
Singles Play
Dalila Said secured a singles victory at the No. 3 position to give Minnesota a 2-0. Penn State followed up the Gopher victory with three straight singles wins at No. 2, 4 and 6 to capture its first lead of the match.
With the Gophers' season on the line, freshman Rachel Hanford came up clutch with a straight set victory in the No. 1 position. With the No. 5 singles match tied at one set apiece, senior captain Juliet Zhang delivered with the biggest set win for the Gophers this season and won the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Notable
-The Gophers won the doubles point in back-to-back matches for the first time this season.
-Juliet Zhang picked up her fourth straight singles win.
-Minnesota won its second straight match in the final singles match.
Quotable
"Another tough battle against Penn State and once again the doubles point was instrumental in getting us the team win today," said head coach Catrina Thompson. "Rachel [Hanford] and Dalila [Said] played well and pulled us to within one point in singles and then nothing was sweeter today then being able to see Juliet [Zhang] clinch the team win on her 23rd birthday!"
Up Next
Minnesota is back in action in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament tomorrow at Noon ct. No. 11 Minnesota is slated to face No. 3 Northwestern. The Wildcats defeated the Gophers in both prior matches this season.
Results
Doubles
1. Rachel Hanford/Dalila Said (MINN) def. Gabby O'Gorman/Karly Friedland (PSU) 7-6 (8-6)
2. Ekin Ercetin/Juliet Zhang (MINN) def. Samantha Smith/Olivia Ryan (PSU) 6-4
3. Alexandra Nielsen/Sofiya Chekhlystova (PSU) def. River Hart/Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. Rachel Hanford (MINN) def. Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) 7-6 (6-1), 6-1
2. Sofiya Chekhlystova (PSU) def. Ekin Ercetin (MINN) 6-0, 6-2
3. Dalila Said (MINN) def. Frederikke Svarre (PSU) 6-0, 6-2
4. Samantha Smith (PSU) def. Lucia De Santa Ana (MINN) 6-1, 6-0
5. Juliet Zhang (MINN) def. Karly Friedland (PSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
6. Alexandra Nielsen (PSU) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 4,3,2,6,1,5