Jan. 26, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- The Penn State men's tennis team completed an undefeated weekend on Sunday as they defeated St. John's, 7-0, at the Indoor Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions got wins in all six singles matches. Penn State only dropped one set during the singles matches. Penn State also won the doubles point for the second straight match. St. John's dropped to 1-1.
"I think today, we played better than we did on Friday afternoon, which we needed to because St. John's beat William & Mary on Saturday," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "Russell played well at number one and took care of business. Overall, it was a good day and a good performance. Hopefully we can ride that momentum into next weekend."
Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) competed at No.1 singles against R.J. Del Nunzio. The senior earned a straight set win, 6-3, 6-0. Bader went 2-0 this weekend to improve to 9-4 and win his fifth straight match, dating back to the fall. He is now one win away from tying Jamie Gresh for 10th all-time at Penn State with 77 wins.
Freshman Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) claimed his first win of the spring as he knocked off Erick Reyes at No. 2 singles. Fennell came through in two tough sets. In the first set, Reyes came back to force a 5-5 tie. Fennell responded by winning the tiebreaker, 7-1. In the second set, Fennell was trailing, but came back to force a 5-5 tie. Fennell again won the tiebreaker, this time, 7-3. Fennell is now 5-4 this year.
At the third singles spot, Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) matched up against Robert Livi. The sophomore earned a 6-3 win in the first set. Trkulja had to go to a tiebreaker in the second set, but came out on top with the 6-5(3) win. Trkulja went 2-0 this weekend to improve to 9-4. With the victory, Trkulja got the fourth and clinching point for Penn State.
Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) took on Lucas Hejhal in the fourth singles matchup. The sophomore got a straight set win, 6-1, 6-4. Barry won his 11th match of the year and also went 2-0 this weekend.
Freshman Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) got his first start of the spring at the fifth singles spot. Castells earned the sweep, 6-3, 6-2. He improved to 8-6 this year.
Junior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) earned his first win of the spring, outlasting Vaidik Munshaw. Reilly took the first set, 6-5(3), before dropping the second set, 6-5(2). Reilly won the tiebreaking set, 10-2. Reilly improved to 9-5 this year.
"I thought it was good that a lot of our young guys got to play today," said Zinn. " David Kohan, Christian, and Marc all got to play in the match today. Those guys got a chance to compete in a collegiate match and they responded very well against a good St. John's team. They will be a very good team in the Big East."
David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) teamed up in a dominating, 6-0, victory against Erick Reyes and Freddy Ruiz Acevedo in the No. 3 doubles match.
Bader and Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) clinched the doubles point for Penn State with a 6-3 win over R.J. Del Nunzio and Vaidik Munshaw at No. 1 doubles.
The No.2 doubles matchup went unfinished, but Reilly and Trkulja were leading 4-3 when the match was stopped.
"Hopefully we can keep our strong doubles play up. That's a positive note that we can keep playing solid doubles," said Zinn.
The Nittany Lions return to action next Sunday, Febuary 2, for a doubleheader against #37 Virginia Tech and Cleveland State. The Virginia Tech match begins at 11 a.m. with the Cleveland State match following at 5 p.m.
Fans can stay updated on the Penn State men's tennis team by following us on Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, or Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis.
Doubles:
1. Bader/Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Del Nunzio/Munshaw(STJ), 6-3.
2. Reilly/Trkulja(PSU) vs. Every/Livi(STJ), 4-3, unfinished.
3. Kohan/Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Reyez/Ruiz Acevedo(STJ), 6-0.
Order of Finish: 3,1
Singles:
1. Russell Bader (PSU) def. R.J. Del Nunzio(STJ), 6-3, 6-0.
2. Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Erick Reyes(STJ), 6-5(1), 6-5(3).
3. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Robert Livi(STJ), 6-3, 6-5(3).
4. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Lucas Hejhal(STJ), 6-1, 6-4.
5. Marc Collado Castells(PSU) def. Freddy Ruiz Acevedo(STJ), 6-3, 6-2.
6. Michael Reilly(PSU) def. Vaidik Munshaw(STJ), 6-5(3), 5-6(2), 10-2.
Order of Finish: 1,4,3,2,5,6