April 19, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team fell 7-0 against #26 Michigan on Friday at the Indoor Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point. Penn State fell to 8-15 this spring and 2-8 in the Big Ten. Michigan improved to 14-7 and 9-1 in conference play.
Michigan's Evan King and Shaun Bernstein entered the match ranked 29th in the nation and lived up to their ranking with an 8-3 win against Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) and Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) in the number one doubles matchup.
Senior Guanhua Chen (DaLian, China) and sophomore Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) paired up for the first time this spring at number three doubles. The duo dropped an 8-5 result against Alex Petrone and Justin Rossi. The win clinched the doubles point for the Wolverines.
Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) and Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) teamed at the second doubles spot and were leading 7-4 against Alex Buzzi and Barrett Franks when Michigan clinched the doubles point and the match went unfinished.
Seniors Guanhua Chen, C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) and Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) were honored as part of senior day ceremonies between the doubles and singles matches.
Bader earned his fourth start of the spring at number one singles as he took on the tenth-ranked King. In the first set, King came out strong with a 6-4 win. In the second frame, Bader battled and led 4-3 after the first seven games. King came out on top 6-4. Bader is now 15-8 this spring, 6-4 in the Big Ten.
Hanzlik faced Petrone at number two singles. Petrone won in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 to earn Michigan's fourth and clinching point. Hanzlik dropped to 13-10 this spring.
Barry matched up against Franks in the third singles spot. Barry never trailed in the first set as he topped Franks 6-4. However, Franks fought back to take the second set 6-3. In the third set, Franks sustained his momentum to win 6-1.
Trkulja competed in the fourth spot against #108 Vlad Stefan. Trkulja fell in a 6-3, 6-1 match.
Young took the court against Alex Buzzi at number five singles. Young jumped out to a 3-2 lead in the 1st set and took three straight games to win the set. Buzzi came back with a dominant second set, winning 6-1. In the tiebreaker set, Buzzi claimed a 10-4 victory.
Griffin earned a senior day start at the sixth spot against Justin Rossi. Griffin worked his way into a 3-2 lead in the first set, but was unable to hold on as Rossi won 6-4. In the second set, Rossi followed with a 6-4 win.
Penn State finishes the regular season on Sunday as they travel to East Lansing to take on #45 Michigan State. The match will start at Noon ET.
After that match, Penn State will prepare for the Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Ohio State, that starts on Thursday, April 25.
Doubles:
1. #29 King/Bernstein(Mich) def. Trkulja/Young(PSU) , 8-3
2. Bader/Barry(PSU) vs. Buzzi/Franks(Mich), 7-4, unfinished
3. Petrone/Rossi(Mich) def. Chen/Hanzlik(PSU), 8-5
Order of Finish:1,3
Singles:
1. #10 Evan King(Mich) def. Russell Bader(PSU), 6-4, 6-4
2. Alex Petrone(Mich) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Barrett Franks(Mich) def. Matt Barry(PSU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
4. #108 Vlad Stefan(Mich) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Alex Buzzi(Mich) def. Chris Young(PSU), 2-6, 6-1, 10-4
6. Justin Rossi(Mich) def. C.J. Griffin(PSU), 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish:4,1,2,3,5,6