Feb. 2, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team(4-0) knocked off #33 Virginia Tech, 4-3, in the first match of their doubleheader. In the second match, the Nittany Lions defeated/dropped Cleveland State, 6-1. Leo Stakhovsky and Russell Bader both knocked off ranked opponents against the Hokies and Matt Barry clinched the match. The Nittany Lions overcame dropping the doubles point against Virginia Tech. Penn State claimed the doubles point against Cleveland State and won five of the six singles matches.
The win over Virginia Tech is Penn State's first over a rank opponent since January 26, 2013 against #59 New Mexico. It is also the highest ranked opponent that Penn State has defeated since a 5-2 win on April 17, 2009 against #30 Wisconsin.
"I'm proud of the way our guys competed today. It really validated everything that we have been talking about," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "This was a big step for us. Virginia Tech is a very good team and beat an NCAA semifinalist last week."
Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) matched up against Florian Nicoud at the No. 5 singles spot. Barry fell 6-4 in his first set, but came back with a 6-3 win in the second set. In the third set, the players split the first four games, 2-2. Barry took the next two games to go up 4-2. After dropping a game, Barry responded to go up 5-3. With the next game tied 40-40, Barry sent one to the left corner past Nicoud to clinch the victory for the Nittany Lions. Barry is now 12-4 this year.
Leonard Stakovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) got the nod at No. 1 singles against Virginia Tech's Amerigo Contini, ranked 26th in the nation. A back-and-forth first set saw Stakhovsky tie it up at 5-5 and then win the tiebreaker, 7-4. Stakhovsky made sure there would be no tiebreaker in the second set, with a quick 6-0 win. Stakhovsky carried his momentum into his matchup against Cleveland State's Jorg Van der Vloet. Stakhovsky earned a sweep, 6-0, 6-4. Stakhovsky is now 3-0 on the year.
Senior Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) had his own ranked opponent to face, taking on No. 60 Andreas Bjerrehus at the second singles spot. The Texas native earned the first set win, 6-4. In the second set, Bjerrehus forced a tiebreaker and won 7-5. Bader trailed 4-3 in the third set, but got the next two games to go up 5-3. After Bjerrehus got a game back, Bader finished him off, 6-4. Bader followed that up with a 6-4, 6-5(5) win over Cleveland State's Matt Kuelker. Bader improved to 11-4 with the win.
With his second win of the day, Bader passed Jamie Gresh(1998-02) for 10th all-time in singles wins at Penn State. He is now one win behind Brendan Lynch(2005-09) for ninth place. Bader now has 78 career wins. Bader also earned a doubles win on the day to come within one win of Mark Greisser(1995-99) for 10th all-time in doubles wins at Penn State.
"Russell and Leo had some very gutsy performances for us today," said Zinn. "Leo proved why he is one of the top players in the country."
Freshman Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) won his second straight match at No. 6 singles. The Barcelona native, earned a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jai Corbett. Castells knocked off Cleveland State's Joe VanMeter in his second match. Castells swept the match, 6-1, 6-3. Castells improved to 11-6.
Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) competed at No. 3 singles against Hunter Koontz. After Koontz took the first set, 6-1, Fennell responded with a 6-3 win in the second set. Koontz came out on top, 6-3, in the third set. However, Fennell came back in his next match, against Cleveland State's Ali Shabib, with a 6-3, 6-3 win. Fennell is now 6-5 on the year.
Sophomore Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) started at No. 4 singles against Joao Monteiro. Trkulja dropped the first set, 6-4, but responded with a 6-5(5) win in the second set. However, Monteiro took the third set, 6-4, to win the matchup. Trkulja is now 10-5 this year.
Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) competed in the No. 5 singles spot for Penn State against Cleveland State's Manny Bellutti. Reilly won the first set, 6-3. In the second set, Reilly rallied from down, 5-2, to force a tiebreaker, but Bellutti took the tiebreaker, 7-4. In the final tiebreaker set, Bellutti came out with an 11-9 win. Reilly is now 9-6.
Freshman Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) got the start at No. 6 singles against Cleveland State's Matt Ford. Dolidze earned a 6-1 first set win and followed that up with a 6-4 victory in the second set to earn the sweep. Dolidze is now 11-7 this year.
David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) combined at No. 3 doubles against Virginia Tech. The duo earned a 6-4 win over Florian Nicoud and Jai Corbett.
Bader and Stakhovsky paired up at No. 1 doubles. They took on Virginia Tech's Bjerrehus and Contini, the nation's 23rd ranked doubles team. The Penn State duo fought back from down 3-1 to take the next four games for a 5-3 lead. Virginia Tech responded by tying it up at 5-5. In the tiebreaker, Bjerrehus and Contini came out on top, 7-4, to claim the doubles point for the Hokies. However, the duo bounced back with a 6-4 doubles point-clinching win over Cleveland State's Shabib and VanMeter.
Michael Reilly and Trkulja teamed up at No. 2 doubles, but fell, 6-4, against Hunter Koontz and Joao Monteiro. Reilly combined with Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) against Cleveland State's Kuelker and Bellutti in a 6-1 victory.
"It was a tough way for us to lose the doubles point so closely. It showed a lot about our guys that we were able to fight back and win despite that," said Zinn.
Barry and Fennell paired up at No. 3 doubles against Cleveland State's Van der Vloet and Ford, but fell 6-4.
Penn State hosts doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday next weekend. The Nittany Lions face UMBC at 11 a.m. and Bucknell at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Penn State welcomes Binghamton at 11 a.m. and Lehigh at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
For updates on the Penn State men's tennis team, check back to GoPSUSports.com. Fans can also follow us on Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN.
Penn State vs. Virginia Tech
Doubles:
1. #23 Bjerrehus/Contini(VT) def. Bader/Stakhovsky(PSU), 6-5(4)
2. Koontz/Monteiro(VT) def. Reilly/Trkulja(PSU), 6-4.
3. Kohan/Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Corbett/Nicoud(VT), 6-4.
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
Singles:
1. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) def. #26 Amerigo Contini(VT), 6-5(4), 6-0.
2. Russell Bader(PSU) def. #66 Andreas Bjerrehus(VT), 6-4, 5-6(5), 6-4.
3. Hunter Koontz(VT) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
4. Joao Monteiro(VT) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), 6-4, 5-6(5), 6-4.
5. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Florian Nicoud(VT), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
6. Marc Collado Castells(PSU) def. Jai Corbett(VT), 6-4, 6-1.
Order of Finish: 1,3,4,2,6,5
Penn State vs. Cleveland State
Doubles:
1. Bader/Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Shabib/VanMeter(CSU), 6-4.
2. Reilly/Young(PSU) def. Kuelker/Bellutti(CSU), 6-1.
3. Van der Vloet/Ford(CSU) def. Barry/Fennell(PSU), 6-4.
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
Singles:
1. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Jorg Van der Vloet(CSU), 6-0, 6-4.
2. Russell Bader(PSU) def. Matt Kuelker(CSU), 6-4, 6-5(5).
3. Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Ali Shabib(CSU), 6-3, 6-3.
4. Marc Castells(PSU) def. Joe VanMeter(CSU), 6-1, 6-3.
5. Manny Bellutti(CSU) def. Mike Reilly(PSU), 3-6, 6-5(4), 11-9.
6. Nika Dolidze(PSU) vs. Matt Ford(CSU), 6-1, 6-4.
Order of Finish: 1,3,4,2,6,5