MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Northwestern breezed to a 4-0 victory against Penn State in day two of quarterfinal action at the Big Ten tournament hosted by Minnesota. The Nittany Lions gave the Wildcats a run in doubles, but it proved to be innocuous as the eight-time defending champion's move onto semi-final action on Saturday. 

Battling in a 7-7 tie-break match, the No. 13-nationally ranked doubles tandem of Georgia Rose and Alexis Prousis could not get off the court fast enough after teammates Lauren Lui and Keri Robison clinched the doubles point at No. 2. Penn State's Sasha Abraham and Katelyn BeVard did their best to knock off last year's NCAA doubles champions, but the match was left abandoned. Earlier, Alexis Conill and Samantha Murray won 8-5 to hand NU its first doubles win. 

In singles play, Suzie Matzenauer proved too much for Nittany Lion Lauren McCarthy winning 6-0 in two sets to give Northwestern its first singles point at No. 6. Lui added another win to her record at No. 3 with a 6-3, 6-0 straight-sets win over Jenny Shular. Nazlie Ghazal toppled 6-1, 6-3 at No. 5 singles to secure the win for top-seeded Northwestern.

With the win, Northwestern continues its campaign for nine-consecutive Big Ten Championships. The Wildcats continue their effort Saturday at 10:00 a.m. against #4 Iowa.

Big Ten Women's Tennis

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