Oct. 17, 2013
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Penn State men's tennis team began play at the ITA Atlantic Regional on Thursday in Blacksburg, Va., hosted by Virginia Tech. Sophomore David Kohan and junior Ramy Labna won both of his Qualifying Singles matches to advance to the singles Main Draw.
Main Draw singles and doubles matches begin Friday, with eight Nittany Lions making their regional debuts.
In the Qualifying Singles Round of 32, Kohan (Sydney, Australia) matched up against Morgan State's Evan Ward. Kohan knocked off Ward in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2 to move on to the Round of 16. In that round, he met Temple's Nicolas Paulus. Kohan won the first set 6-4 before Paulus came back with a 6-3 win in the second set. However, Kohan came out on top in the final set. He advances to the Main Draw, where he will take on James Madison's Sebastian Salinas.
Labna (Doha, Qatar) also earned a win in his opening match against UMBC's Daniel Gray. Labna took an early advantage with a 6-2 win in the first set. Gray responded with a 7-5 win in the second set. Labna finished the set with a 6-3 win to advance to the Round of 16. In the next match, Labna faced Morgan State's Dmitriy Borodkin. After dropping the first set, 5-7, Labna bounced back with a 6-1 win in the second set. Labna won the third set 6-4 to clinch a spot in the Main Draw. In the draw, he matches up against Duquesne's Pete Carpenter.
Senior Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) took on Temple's Sam Rundle in his first round match. However, Rundle won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Young will compete in a consolation match on Friday.
Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.), Russell Bader (Austin, Texas), Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada), and Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) all received first-round byes. Bader is the 12th seed in the draw.
Freshman Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) matches up against UMBC's Alex Drean in the first round, while fellow freshman Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) takes on Richmond's Jacob Dunbar.
Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) faces George Washington's Shane Korber in the first round. Junior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) meets Richmond's Canyon Teague.
Live ITA Atlantic Regional draw brackets can be found at http://www.hokiesports.com/mtennis/brackets/.
For coverage of the ITA Atlantic Regional, check back to gopsusports.com. Updates will also be available on our Facebook page, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter page, @pennstateMTEN.
Singles:
Qualifying Singles:
Round of 32) Ramy Labna(PSU) def. Daniel Gray(UMBC), 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
David Kohan(PSU) def. Evan Ward(Morgan State), 6-3, 6-2.
Sam Rundle(Temple) def. Chris Young(PSU), 6-4, 6-3.
Round of 16) Ramy Labna(PSU) def. Dmitriy Borodkin (Morgan State), 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
David Kohan(PSU) def. Nicholas Paulus(Temple), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.