Indiana women’s tennis will travel to University Park, PA to face Penn State University in the first of three consecutive away Big Ten matchups.
The Hoosiers have a winning history against Penn State with a 14-4 overall record and positive win-loss ratios in both home and away games: 8-2 at home and 6-2 away.
However, the Nittany Lions have won the last two matchups, including a 5-1 loss last year for the Hoosiers.
Despite the recent losses, the Hoosiers have still dominated in recent years. Dating back to 2014, Indiana is 7-3 in the last 10 showdowns against the Nittany Lions.
Indiana has had ups and downs this season, especially recently. In the last five games, the Hoosiers have gone 3-2, with the wins interspersed with the losses. The Hoosiers are also 1-2 in the Big Ten, with losses to Maryland and Northwestern.
Penn State is 9-9 this season and 1-3 in the Big Ten, with losses to Illinois, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 16 Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions have a 2-7 record on the road but usually perform well at home.
Individually, the Nittany Lions No. 1 junior Sofiya Chekhlystova is 9-6 this season and 4-4 in the last ten matches, most recently earning a victory against Minnesota. Hoosiers No. 1 sophomore Lara Schneider, on the other hand, is 10-2 this season and 8-1 in the last ten matches, including an 8-game winning streak.
Despite the losses, Schneider is 3-0 against Big Ten opponents in singles, while Penn State’s Chekhlystova is 0-2 in the conference.
Hoosiers’ No. 2 graduate student Saby Nihalani is also doing very well this season. She is 9-3 overall, including a record of 6-2 in the last ten matches. Currently, she’s on a 2-game losing streak but she has a positive record of 2-1 in the Big Ten.
Nittany Lions’ No. 2 sophomore Yvonne Zuffova has not played great recently, as she’s in the midst of a 4-game losing streak. She is 6-11 this season, including a 4-6 record in the last ten matches and a 1-3 record in the Big Ten.
The No. 5 singles matchup should be exciting. Hoosier freshman Nicole Teodosescu is 5-3 since being inserted in the lineup, including 2-1 in the Big Ten and is on a 3-game winning streak. For the Nittany Lions, freshman Olivia Dorner has the team’s best record — being 11-5 overall — but she is 0-3 in conference games.
A tough matchup should also be expected at No. 1 for doubles play. Hoosiers Schneider and Nihalani face Chekhlystova and graduate student Carla Girbau, both doubles, have the best records on their respective teams. The Hoosiers’ double is 9-3 this season, but only 1-2 in the conference, and the Nittany Lions’ double is 6-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
The Hoosiers usually struggle away from Bloomington, with a 3-2 record on the road. The away wins include two 4-3 games and one 4-2 game while the losses generally include a bigger margin, including a 4-1 and a 5-2 loss.
Penn State, on the other hand, is 6-2 at home this season, losing to No. 16 Wisconsin and Old Dominion University.
Indiana plays Penn State at 11 a.m. on Sunday in University Park, Pennsylvania.
