Saturday, March 2
New York, N.Y./Dick Savitt Tennis Center
2:00 PM
Columbia
vs
Penn State
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
No. 42 Women's Tennis to Host Penn State Saturday
2/28/2019 12:04:00 PM | Women's Tennis
First serve is at 2 p.m. ET at Dick Savitt Tennis Center; Lions enter weekend on seven-match win streak.
NEW YORK—Riding a seven-match win streak, the No. 42 ranked Columbia women's tennis team (7-1) hosts Penn State (7-2) for a dual match on Saturday at Dick Savitt Tennis Center. First-serve for the match is at 2 p.m. ET.
All six courts will be streamed live on ESPN3. Here is the breakdown on where fans can watch each match:
COLUMBIA VS. PENN STATE (ESPN3)
Columbia enters its weekend with a 7-1 overall dual match record. The Lions' only loss came in their season-opener at No. 24 ranked Syracuse. Since then, the Lions have won seven straight. The seven-match win streak is Columbia's longest since it won 11 straight in 2014. As part of a promotion, FREE pizza will be available to all spectators!
Last week, Columbia earned its first national ranking of the season when it was rated No. 38 by the ITA. It enters this week ranked No. 42 and is one of two Ivy League teams listed in the rankings. Princeton is ranked No. 48.
On Feb. 8-10, Columbia claimed its third all-time ECAC Indoor Championship as the Lions defeated host Yale (4-2), Penn (4-2) and Princeton (4-1) in the final. Columbia has now won ECAC titles in 2014, 2016 and now 2019 and head coach Ilene Weintraub won her third ECAC title.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State enters its weekend with a 7-2 overall and 1-0 Big Ten Conference record after defeating Iowa 4-3 last week. The Nittany Lions, who have won two of their last three matches, are led by Gabby O'Gorman, who is rated the nation's No. 98 singles player in the recent ITA rankings. O'Gorman is 14-8 overall in singles and 7-2 at the No. 1 singles position this year. O'Gorman and teammate Olivia Rohrbacher have accumulated a 9-2 overall record and 8-0 record at No. 1 doubles. Samantha Smith has a 17-6 overall singles record, Chelsea Sawyer is 12-8 and Frederikke Svarre is 15-7.
Columbia takes on Penn State for the sixth time in series history. The Lions have won each of the last four meetings dating back to 2015.
GAME NOTES
*No. 42 ranked Columbia (7-1) hosts its second Big Ten Conference opponent in a row when it takes on Penn State (7-2) on Saturday at Dick Savitt Tennis Center. The Lions enter the weekend on a seven-match win streak after claiming the 2019 ECAC Indoor Championship Feb. 8-10 in New Haven, Conn. and winning back-to-back dual matches vs. Sacred Heart (7-0) and Big Ten opponent Maryland (6-1) last weekend.
*Six Lions have won 10 or more singles matches: Akanksha Bhan (14-4), Christie Wan (13-4), Jennifer Kerr (13-8), Melissa Sakar (13-5), Yekaterina Alferova (11-7) and Sarah Hu (11-5). In doubles, Bhan and Paulina Ferrari are 11-3, Wan and Andrea Kevakian are 10-6 and Kerr and Hu have a 10-3 record. Overall, Columbia is 113-48 in matches.
*According to tennisrecruiting.net, Columbia welcomed the nation's No. 12 ranked incoming 2018 recruiting class in September. The four newcomers include first-years Melissa Sakar, Akanksha Bhan, Yekaterina Alferova and Caitie Sullivan. All four were ranked among the nation's top-100 players in the 2018 tennisrecruiting.net class: Sakar (No. 18), Bhan (No. 28), Alferova (No. 35) and Sullivan (No. 75).
*Head Coach Ilene Weintraub, CC '02 is in her 12th season at the helm of the Columbia women's tennis program. The winningest coach in school history, Weintraub guided the Lions to their first Ivy League Championship in 2013, led the program to a top-40 national ranking in 2016, captured three ECAC Championships (2014, 2016, 2019) and has recruited three national top-15 recruiting classes (No. 6 in 2015, No. 10 in 2017 and No. 12 in 2018) and four national top-20 recruiting classes in the last five years to Columbia. She was named the ITA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in both 2014 and 2016. Weintraub is joined by first-year assistant coach AJ Nelson and volunteer assistant coach Carlos Carrera.
All six courts will be streamed live on ESPN3. Here is the breakdown on where fans can watch each match:
COLUMBIA VS. PENN STATE (ESPN3)
| Court | Match(es) | Link |
| 1 | 5 singles | Watch Live |
| 2 | 3 singles | Watch Live |
| 3 | 1 doubles, 1 singles | Watch Live |
| 4 | 2 doubles, 2 singles | Watch Live |
| 5 | 3 doubles, 4 singles | Watch Live |
| 6 | 6 singles | Watch Live |
Columbia enters its weekend with a 7-1 overall dual match record. The Lions' only loss came in their season-opener at No. 24 ranked Syracuse. Since then, the Lions have won seven straight. The seven-match win streak is Columbia's longest since it won 11 straight in 2014. As part of a promotion, FREE pizza will be available to all spectators!
Last week, Columbia earned its first national ranking of the season when it was rated No. 38 by the ITA. It enters this week ranked No. 42 and is one of two Ivy League teams listed in the rankings. Princeton is ranked No. 48.
On Feb. 8-10, Columbia claimed its third all-time ECAC Indoor Championship as the Lions defeated host Yale (4-2), Penn (4-2) and Princeton (4-1) in the final. Columbia has now won ECAC titles in 2014, 2016 and now 2019 and head coach Ilene Weintraub won her third ECAC title.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State enters its weekend with a 7-2 overall and 1-0 Big Ten Conference record after defeating Iowa 4-3 last week. The Nittany Lions, who have won two of their last three matches, are led by Gabby O'Gorman, who is rated the nation's No. 98 singles player in the recent ITA rankings. O'Gorman is 14-8 overall in singles and 7-2 at the No. 1 singles position this year. O'Gorman and teammate Olivia Rohrbacher have accumulated a 9-2 overall record and 8-0 record at No. 1 doubles. Samantha Smith has a 17-6 overall singles record, Chelsea Sawyer is 12-8 and Frederikke Svarre is 15-7.
Columbia takes on Penn State for the sixth time in series history. The Lions have won each of the last four meetings dating back to 2015.
GAME NOTES
*No. 42 ranked Columbia (7-1) hosts its second Big Ten Conference opponent in a row when it takes on Penn State (7-2) on Saturday at Dick Savitt Tennis Center. The Lions enter the weekend on a seven-match win streak after claiming the 2019 ECAC Indoor Championship Feb. 8-10 in New Haven, Conn. and winning back-to-back dual matches vs. Sacred Heart (7-0) and Big Ten opponent Maryland (6-1) last weekend.
*Six Lions have won 10 or more singles matches: Akanksha Bhan (14-4), Christie Wan (13-4), Jennifer Kerr (13-8), Melissa Sakar (13-5), Yekaterina Alferova (11-7) and Sarah Hu (11-5). In doubles, Bhan and Paulina Ferrari are 11-3, Wan and Andrea Kevakian are 10-6 and Kerr and Hu have a 10-3 record. Overall, Columbia is 113-48 in matches.
*According to tennisrecruiting.net, Columbia welcomed the nation's No. 12 ranked incoming 2018 recruiting class in September. The four newcomers include first-years Melissa Sakar, Akanksha Bhan, Yekaterina Alferova and Caitie Sullivan. All four were ranked among the nation's top-100 players in the 2018 tennisrecruiting.net class: Sakar (No. 18), Bhan (No. 28), Alferova (No. 35) and Sullivan (No. 75).
*Head Coach Ilene Weintraub, CC '02 is in her 12th season at the helm of the Columbia women's tennis program. The winningest coach in school history, Weintraub guided the Lions to their first Ivy League Championship in 2013, led the program to a top-40 national ranking in 2016, captured three ECAC Championships (2014, 2016, 2019) and has recruited three national top-15 recruiting classes (No. 6 in 2015, No. 10 in 2017 and No. 12 in 2018) and four national top-20 recruiting classes in the last five years to Columbia. She was named the ITA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in both 2014 and 2016. Weintraub is joined by first-year assistant coach AJ Nelson and volunteer assistant coach Carlos Carrera.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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