April 4, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team continues their Big Ten schedule this weekend as they host #37 Minnesota on Friday at 3 p.m. and Wisconsin on Sunday at 11 a.m. The matches will be played outside at the Sarni Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions are 7-11 this spring, with a mark of 1-3 in Big Ten play.
Last weekend, Penn State picked up their first Big Ten victory of the spring on Friday with a 4-3 win over Iowa. Penn State dropped the doubles point, but got singles wins from Tomas Hanzlik, Russell Bader, Roman Trkulja, and Matt Barry. On Sunday, the Nittany Lions dropped a tough 4-3 match against #57 Nebraska. Earning singles wins against Nebraska were Hanzlik, Bader, and Barry, but the Nittany Lions were unable to get a fourth win.
Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) enters the dual with a five-match win streak. He has a record of 13-5 this spring and 4-1 against Big Ten opponents.
Freshman Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) has ten wins this spring and 22 overall. He sits five wins away from tying for sixth place on Penn State's all-time single season wins list. Barry's win clinched the match against Iowa.
Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) got his second start of the year in the number one singles spot against Nebraska and earned a 6-2, 7-5 sweep against Andre Stenger. Hanzlik is 11-7 this spring and 2-3 in Big Ten play.
Freshman Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) has eight wins this spring and is 2-3 in Big Ten matches so far.
Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) will look to end his break his seven-match losing streak this weekend.
Minnesota enters the Friday match with a record of 8-8 and 4-1 in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers have won four-straight matches and are ranked 37th in the nation.
Last weekend, Minnesota earned two wins over ranked opponents. On Friday, they defeated #29 Northwestern 4-3. On Sunday, they knocked off #28 Illinois 4-3.
The Gophers' other ranked wins this year include #34 Michigan, #49 Michigan State, #30 Washington, and #50 Louisville.
Rok Bonin leads Minnesota with an 11-4 mark this spring and 19-9 overall. Bonin is 4-1 in Big Ten play and was ranked 41st in the March 26 ITA Singles Poll. Bonin has won eight of his last ten matches.
Leandro Toledo joins Bonin in the ITA Poll, where he is ranked 100th. Toledo is 9-6 this spring and 4-1 in Big Ten play. He has won three-straight matches.
Mathieu Froment and Jack Hamburg have paired up in the number one doubles spot for the Gophers. They have three wins this spring. Toledo and Eric Freuh lead the doubles pairs with five wins this spring.
Wisconsin comes into the weekend with a mark of 10-7, 1-4 in the Big Ten. The Badgers have dropped five-straight matches.
Alex Kostanov leads the squad with 11 wins thie spring. Jakhongir Jalalov has eight wins this year.
Petr Satral competes in the number one spot for Wisconsin. Satral is 8-9 this spring. Alex Kokorev and Satral have combined to win seven doubles matches, while Jalalov and Oskar WIkberg lead the team with eight wins.
Check back to gopsusports.com throughout the weekend for coverage of this weekend's matches. Live scoring for the match will be available at http://www.gopsusports.com/livestats/c-tennis/xlive.htm.
Fans can also follow the action on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.