TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 7, 2004 ¨C The Penn State women¡¯s tennis team claimed its fourth-straight victory in dominant fashion Sunday, defeating Temple, 7-0, at Florida State University. The dual marked the first of three matches for the Nittany Lions during their spring break trip to Florida. With the win, Penn State improved to 6-5 overall for the season.

Temple was able to field a team of only five players, and Penn State took advantage. The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after claiming the two doubles contests. Penn State went on to dominate in singles action, winning four of the five matches in straight sets.

In doubles, veterans Leigh Ann Merryman (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and Megan Marton (Phoenix, Ariz.) teamed up for an 8-2 win over Ana Maslesa and Laura Selverling in the No. 1 match. Juniors Maaria Husain (Marion, Ohio) and Jessica McKeown (Toronto, Ontario) worked together to post an 8-4 win over Jen Goeta and Lauren Verrall in the No. 2 match.

Merryman, Marton, and Husain all completed perfect outings with straight-set wins in the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 singles matches, respectively. In the No. 4 contest, junior Sarah Spence (Calgary, Alberta) posted a solid three-set win over Selverling. Talented freshman Katelyn BeVard (McLean, Va.) rounded out the Penn State scoring with a straight-set win over Jackie Sy in the No. 5 match.

Penn State will remain in Tallahassee to face Florida State on Wednesday.

Penn State 7, Temple 0

Singles:

 1. Leigh Ann Merryman def. Ana Maslesa 6-4, 6-0 2. Megan Marton def. Lauren Verrall 6-3, 6-2 3. Maaria Husain def. Jen Goeta 6-0, 6-1 4. Sarah Spence def. Laura Selverling 6-2, 2-6, 10-6 5. Katelyn BeVard def. Jackie Sy 6-3, 6-1 6. Sasha Abraham def. No Match 

Doubles:

 1. Merryman/Marton def. Maslesa/Selverling 8-2 2. Husain/McKeown def. Goeta/Verrall 8-4 3. Abraham/Bevard def. No Match