April 25, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Penn State men's tennis team got knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament Opening Round on Thursday in a 4-2 loss to #56 Indiana. The Hoosiers jumped out to a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. Russell Bader and Roman Trkulja earned singles wins for Penn State. The Nittany Lions finish the season with an 8-16 mark. Indiana moves on to face #23 Michigan in the conference quarterfinal round.
Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) competed in the number two singles spot against Sam Monette, ranked 124th in the ITA Poll. Bader came out on top in a tough 7-6 first set. Bader rode his momentum to a 6-0 victory in the second set. The win was Bader's 17th this year and first against a ranked opponent.
Freshman Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) faced Daniel Bednarczyk in the number five singles matchup. Trkulja jumped out to a 6-1 win in the first set, but Bednarczyk came back with a 6-2 win in the second set. In the third frame, Trkulja earned a 6-4 win.
Senior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) returned to action for the first time since March 31st. Welnetz took on Josh MacTaggart in the top singles matchup. MacTaggart took a tough first set 7-5 and then followed that with a 6-0 victory in the second set. The win gave Indiana a 2-1 lead.
Junior Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) started at number six singles against Chris Essick. After dropping the first set 6-4, Young came back with his own 6-4 win. Young could not sustain his momentum as Essick claimed a 6-0 third set.
Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) took on Isade Juneau in a three set battle. Juneau picked up the first set with a 6-4 victory. Hanzlik responded in the second set with a 6-2 win. In a tough third set, Juneau came out on top, 7-5. Juneau's win clinched the match for Indiana with their fourth point of the match.
Freshman Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) faced Dimitrije Tasic in the fourth singles match. Barry picked up a tough 7-6 first set. Barry was then leading 5-4 in the second set when Juneau won to clinch the match.
Monette and Juneau combined for Indiana in the top doubles spot. The 21st ranked duo in the nation backed up their ranking with an 8-4 win over Welnetz and C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.)
Trkulja and Young paired up for Penn State at number three doubles, but fell 8-2 against Essick and Tasic to clinch the point for Indiana.
The number two doubles match went unfinished, but Bader and Guanhua Chen (DaLian, China) were tied 6-6 against MacTaggart and Bednarczyk when the match was ended.
Doubles:
1. #21 Monette/Juneau(Ind) def. Griffin/Welnetz(PSU), 8-4
2. Bader/Chen(PSU) vs. MacTaggart/Bednarczyk(Ind), 6-6, unfinished
3. Tasic/Essick(Ind) def. Trkulja/Young(PSU), 8-2
Order of Finish: 3,1
Singles:
1. Josh MacTaggart(Ind) def. Bryan Welnetz(PSU), 7-5, 6-0
2. Russell Bader(PSU) def. #124 Sam Monette(Ind), 7-6, 6-0
3. Isade Juneau(Ind) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
4. Matt Barry(PSU) vs. Dimitrije Tasic(Ind), 7-6, 5-4, unfinished
5. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Daniel Bednarczyk(Ind), 6-1, 2-6, 6-4
6. Chris Essick(Ind) def. Chris Young(PSU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
Order of Finish: 2,1,5,6,3