Pirates Fall To No. 67 Penn State | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.



    GREENVILLE, N.C.     While the match was closer than the final score indicated, the East Carolina women's tennis team fell to No. 67 Penn State 4-0 on Friday.

    East Carolina drops to 2-9 on the year while Penn State improves to 6-6 this season.

    The Nittany Lions got off to a strong start in the doubles play. Olivia Ryan and Gabby O'Gorman topped Ines Bachir and Alisha Hussain 6-3 on court one while Deanna Lasorda and Alexandra Nielsen beat Anne Lou Champion and Isabella Rivera Ortiz by the same score on court three. The Pirates did have a lead on court two, with Sofia Cerezo Holgado and Alisa Diercksen leading Yvonne Zuffova and Karly Friedland 5-4, but the match went unfinished.

    Things looked bleak for East Carolina early on, as Penn State won the opening set on four of the six courts. However, five of the six matches began to tighten up. On court one, Ortiz dropped a 6-1 opening set to Zuffova, but battled back to win the second set 6-3. Unfortunately, Zuffova had an answer of her own, winning the final set to take a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory.

    The Nittany Lions got their third point of the day on the only match that finished in two sets, as O'Gorman got past Diercksen 6-4, 6-2 on court two.

    The remaining four matches all went to a third set, with Martina Muzzolon and Holgado winning the opening sets on courts three and six respectively while Hussain and Bachir won their respective second sets on courts four and five. Unfortunately, the first of those four matches to finish was on court six, with Ryan closing out a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win to clinch the match for Penn State.

    The Pirates will be back home on Wednesday to host William & Mary. That match will get underway at 2 p.m., at River Birch Tennis Complex.

    Singles Results

1. Yvonne Zuffova (PSU) def. Isabella Rivera Ortiz (ECU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
2. Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) def. Alisa Diercksen (ECU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Martina Muzzolon (ECU) vs. Karly Friedland (PSU) 7-5, 2-6, unfinished
4. Alisha Hussain (ECU) vs. Alexandra Nielsen (PSU) 4-6, 6-3, unfinished
5. Ines Bachir (ECU) vs. Danielle Alamo (PSU) 2-6, 6-2, 4-1, unfinished
6. Olivia Ryan (PSU) def. Sofia Cerezo Holgado (ECU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

    Order of Finish: 1, 2, 6

    Doubles Results

1. Olivia Ryan/Gabby O'Gorman (PSU) def. Ines Bachir/Alisha Hussain (ECU) 6-3
2. Sofia Cerezo Holgado/Alisa Diercksen (ECU) vs. Yvonne Zuffova/Karly Friedland (PSU) 5-4, unfinished
3. Deanna Lasorda/Alexandra Nielsen (PSU) def. Anne Lou Champion/Isabella Rivera Ortiz (ECU) 6-3

    Order of Finish: 1, 3