April 8, 2012
MADISON, Wisc. - The Penn State men's tennis team (11-9, 1-6) concluded its weekend road swing with a tough defeat at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers (9-7, 1-3). Much like Friday afternoon's match against No. 47 Minnesota, freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) and red-shirt junior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) earned singles victories for Penn State, but the Nittany Lions could not clinch the final three singles bouts en route to falling to the Badgers, 5-2.
Senior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Hanzlik opened doubles competition with an 8-5 loss to Alex Robles and Quinton Vega. Sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) and junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) brought the Nittany Lions back to even with an 8-5 victory over Alexander Kostanov and Petr Satral on court two. Finally, Fredrik Ask and Rod Carey led Wisconsin to a 9-8 (8) victory over junior C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) and Hasyn in a thrilling first doubles contest, giving the Badgers a 1-0 lead.
Hasyn responded quickly for Penn State. The co-captain quickly dispatched of Robles, 6-3, 6-0, to even the match at 1-1. Wisconsin regained the lead at 2-1 as Cohen fell to Vega in hotly contested third singles duel, 6-3, 6-3. Hanzlik provided yet another spark for the Nittany Lions on court one, leading the entire way en route to claiming a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ask.
Penn State could not continue the momentum, though, as sophomore Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) fell to Kostanov (6-2, 6-0) on court five. Welnetz then dropped his No. 4 singles bout to Satral, 6-4, 7-6 (4), clinching the match for Wisconsin. Finally, Bader could not overcome Carey in second singles (6-3, 3-6, 6-4).
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley this upcoming weekend for a pair of Big Ten contests and alumni weekend festivities. Penn State will open the weekend with a 3:30 p.m. bout against the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday, April 13. Finally, Penn State will wrap up its weekend homestand with a Sunday morning (11 a.m.) contest against the Illinois Fighting Illini. All matches will be played outdoors at the Sarni Tennis Center, weather permitting. Free pizza will be available for all in attendance.
Follow the Nittany Lions on Facebook at Penn State Men's Tennis and Twitter: @PSUMensTennis.
Wisconsin 5, Penn State 2:
Doubles:
1) Fredrik Ask/Rod Carey (WISC) def. C.J. Griffin/Christopher Hasyn (PSU), 9-8 (8)
2) Russell Bader/Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Alexander Kostanov/Petr Satral (WISC), 8-5
3) Alex Robles/Quinton Vega (WISC) def. Taylor Cohen/Tomas Hanzlik (PSU), 8-5
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
1) Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) def. Fredrik Ask (WISC), 6-4, 6-4
2) Rod Carey (WISC) def. Russell Bader (PSU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
3) Quinton Vega (WISC) def. Taylor Cohen (PSU), 6-3, 6-3
4) Petr Satral (WISC) def. Bryan Welnetz (PSU), 6-4, 7-6 (4)
5) Alexander Kostanov (WISC) def. Chris Young (PSU), 6-2, 6-0
6) Christopher Hasyn (PSU) def. Alex Robles (WISC), 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 3, 1, 5, 4, 2