Sept. 28, 2013
ANNAPOLIS, Md./TULSA, Okla.-The Penn State men's tennis team experienced successful days in their two tournaments on Saturday. At the Navy All-Conference Tournament, Penn State faced a tough Princeton squad and went 5-0 in singles and 1-1 in doubles. In Tulsa, at the ITA All-American Championships, three Nittany Lions advanced in the Pre-Qualifying Draw.The round also featured a long rain delay that pushed the second round to Sunday.
In his first match of the fall, junior Tomas Hanzlik(Prague, Czech Republic) defeated Murray State's Adam Taylor, 6-4, 6-2. Hanzlik will take on Purdue's Syzmon Tatarczyk in the second round.
Freshman Marc Collado Castells(Barcelona, Spain) made his college debut, knocking off Duke's Cale Hammond, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. Castells rallied from down 4 match points in the second set. Castells faces Florida's Elliot Orkin on Sunday.
Fellow freshman Alex Fennell(Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) took on SMU's Eduardo Razzeto. Fennell won the first frame 6-2, but Razzeto responded with a 6-3 second set. Fennell came out ahead in a tough third set, 7-5. On Sunday, Fennell takes on East Tennessee State's Rogerio Ribeiro in the second round.
Junior Michael Reilly(Raleigh, N.C) made his debut as a Penn State player, but fell 6-2, 6-4 against Duke's Josh Levine. Reilly could play in a Pre-Qualifying Bonus Match on Sunday.
"We had a 14 hour day with rain delays and everything." said Assistant Coach Chris Cagle. "Our guys played really hard and supported each other. We're looking forward to another great day of tennis tomorrow."
At the Navy All-Conference Tournament, Penn State, combining with Arkansas, played against Princeton. The Tigers finished last spring ranked 51st in the nation. The Nittany Lions won matches at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 singles and 3 doubles.
"We played great and beat a very good Princeton team." said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. At number one singles, Roman Trkulja(Toronto, Canada) won for the second straight day. He won in straight sets against Princeton's Zack McCourt, 6-1, 6-4. Trkulja won on Friday against Navy's Thomas Pecor, 6-1, 6-1.
Matt Barry(Lido Beach, N.Y.) also won his second match in two days, earning the victory over Princeton's Jonathan Carcione, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. The sophomore defeated Navy's Calvin Mark, 6-2, 6-1 on Friday.
Sophomore David Kohan(Sydney, Australia) competed in the fifth spot for Penn State and claimed a 7-5, 6-3 win against Dan Davies. It was also Kohan's second straight win after he bested Navy's Krishna Jana, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday.
Freshman Nika Dolidze(Tbilisi, Georgia) knocked off Princeton's Florin Radu, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the seventh spot to earn his second college win. Dolidze defeated Navy's Tyler Tossavainen, 6-2, 6-2 on Friday.
Christian Lutschaunig(Richboro, Pa.) made his singles debut and won 6-3, 6-4 against Princeton's Ben Quazzo.
In the number one doubles spot, Trkulja and Lutschaunig paired up, but dropped a tough battle against McCourt and Davies, 8-7(7-1).
Barry and Kohan teamed up in the third doubles match. The duo also had a tough battle, but came out on top, 8-7(7-2) against Thomas Colautti and Alexander Day. They improved to 2-0 this weekend.
The Penn State/Arkansas combined team concludes on Sunday. They take on Indiana at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the final match of the tournament.
Please check back to gopsusports.com for more coverage of the Navy All-Conference Tournament and the ITA All-American Championships. Fans can follow updates on the action on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.
ITA All-American Championships
Pre-Qualifying Draw First Round:
Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Adam Taylor(Murray St.), 6-4, 6-2.
Marc Collado Castells(PSU) def. Cale Hammond(Duke), 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Josh Levine(Duke) def. Michael Reilly(PSU), 6-2, 6-4.
Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Eduardo Razzeto(SMU), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
Navy All-Conference Tournament
Doubles:
1. Davies/McCourt(Princeton) def. Trkulja/Lutschaunig(PSU), 8-7(7-1).
3. Barry/Kohan(PSU) def. Colautti/Day(Princeton), 8-7(7-2).
Singles:
1. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Zack McCourt(Princeton), 6-1, 6-4.
3. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Jonathan Carcione(Princeton), 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
5. David Kohan(PSU) def. Dan Davies(Princeton), 7-5, 6-3.
7. Nika Dolidze(PSU) def. Florin Radu(Princeton), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
9. Christian Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Ben Quazzo(Princeton), 6-3, 6-4.