Feb. 4, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) was awarded Big Ten Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week on Tuesday. The sophomore played a big role in helping Penn State defeat #33 Virginia Tech and Cleveland State this weekend with wins at the top singles spot.
It marks the first time that Stakhovsky has won the award. The last Nittany Lion to win the award was Eddie Bourchier on March 15, 2011.
The sophomore knocked off Virginia Tech's Amerigo Contini, 6-5(4), 6-0 to set the tone for the Nittany Lions' win over the Hokies. Contini entered the match ranked 26th in the ITA Singles Poll.
Stakhovsky is one of three Big Ten players to defeat a Top 30 singles opponent this spring.
The Kiev, Ukraine native also earned a 6-0, 6-4 win over Cleveland State's Jorg Van der Vloet.
Stakhovsky also paired with Russell Bader in a 6-4 win against the Vikings' Ali Shabib and Joe VanMeter.
"It's a well deserved honor that Leo received from the Big Ten.," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "He has worked extremely are hard to get ready for this season and got a big win for us on Saturday against Virginia Tech."