March 30, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 23 Penn State men's tennis team earned a 4-3 win against No. 28 Northwestern on Sunday at the Indoor Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions won the doubles point and picked up singles wins at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4. Penn State improved to 16-3 this spring and 3-2 in conference play. Northwestern dropped to 12-9 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten.
"This was another battle in the Big Ten and it was a great win for us," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "We had a tough match against Illinois on Friday, but one of the great things about this conference is that you really have to be ready for the next match, so we did not have much time to worry about it. We got a good win before we go on the road for a few matches."
It marked the sixth time this season that the Nittany Lions knocked off a ranked opponent. Penn State also improved to 12-1 at home.
The Nittany Lions claimed their 17th doubles point in 19 matches this spring with wins at No. 1 and No. 2.
Senior Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) and sophomore Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine), ranked 28th in the ITA Doubles Poll, matched up against Northwestern's Raleigh Smith and Sam Shropshire at the top doubles spot. The Penn State duo earned an 8-5 victory to clinch the doubles point. They moved to 12-4 this spring.
With the win, Bader earned career doubles victory number 75. He is one of three Penn State players all-time to earn 75 wins.
At No. 2 doubles, Penn State's 54th-ranked doubles team, Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) and Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) met the Wildcats' Mihir Kumar and Konrad Zieba. The Nittany Lion pair cruised to an 8-2 win to remain undefeated. They are now 10-0 in dual matches.
In the third doubles match, David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) competed against Northwestern's Strong Kirchheimer and Fedor Baev. The match was locked at 7-7 in a tiebreaker and were at match point when the match was stopped.
Stakhovsky, ranked 50th in the ITA Poll, played his third straight match against a ranked opponent as he matched up against Raleigh Smith, ranked 37th in the ITA Poll. Stakhovsky jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first set on his way to a 6-2 win. He followed that up with another 6-2 win in the second set. Stakhovsky went 2-0 this weekend, also knocking off Illinois' No. 9 Jared Hiltzik. Stakhovsky is now 15-2 this spring and 6-2 against ranked opponents.
Freshman Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) competed against the Wildcats' Konrad Zieba at No. 3 singles. The freshman took the first set, 6-3. In the second set, Fennell forced a tiebreaker at 6-6. In a back-and-forth tiebreaker, Fennell came out on top, 8-6. Fennell improved to 12-7 this spring and 16-10 overall.
Sophomore Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) competed at No. 4 singles against the Wildcats' Mihir Kumar. In a tight first set, Barry forced a tiebreaker at 6-6 and came out on top in a marathon tiebreaker, 12-10. Kumar responded with a 6-3 win in the second set. In the deciding set, Kumar took the first game, but Barry earned the next two and would not trail for the rest of the set, winning 6-4 to clinch the match point for Penn State. Barry improved to 12-2 this spring.
It marks the fourth time this spring that Barry clinched the match for the Nittany Lions.
"Matt Barry clinched another match for us today. He has done that a few times this year and we feel confident when he's in that situation," said Zinn. "He's very fast, very quick and he has so many different shots. I just try to keep him relaxed."
Bader took on Northwestern freshman Sam Shropshire, ranked 113th in the nation, at No. 2 singles. Trailing 5-6, Bader forced a tiebreaker in the first set. However, Shropshire bested Bader in the tiebreaker, 7-3, to take the set. Bader led 4-3 in the second set, but Shropshire rallied back to take the set, 6-4. Bader dropped to 15-4 this spring.
Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) faced Strong Kirchheimer at the fifth singles spot. Kircheimer won the first set, 6-1, and kept his momentum going with a 6-3 win in the second set. Trkulja fell to 9-9 this spring.
Reilly got his first Big Ten start of his career at No. 6 singles against Northwestern's Alex Pasarneau. The junior earned a 6-3 win in the first set. In the next set, Pasarneau won 6-4. In the final set, Pasarneau came out on top, 10-7. Reilly dropped to 3-3 in dual matches.
"We played another player at No. 6 today in Mike Reilly," said Zinn. "He hasn't played much this spring, I've kind of been saving him, but he played great today. It's disappointing that he couldn't play a full third set. We had already clinched the match and the rule is that it has to be a super tiebreaker. I feel good about him coming into the lineup and it shows another piece of our depth."
"A huge effort by everybody today pulling out a nice win against Northwestern," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "They played us tough in singles and beat us at a few positions, but Leo, Alex and Matt did a great job for us. We played really well in doubles again and it was a key point for us again today. As we go on the road next weekend, it might be playing some more outdoors matches and we continue to develop the players for those conditions and we're confident that they will adapt well."
The Nittany Lions begin a four-match road stretch in the Big Ten next weekend. Penn State travels to No. 62 Wisconsin on Friday for a 6 p.m. start, followed by an 11 a.m. start on Sunday at No. 50 Minnesota.
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com throughout the week for more coverage of the Penn State men's tennis team. Fans can also follow the team on Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN.
Doubles:
1. #28 Bader/Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Smith/Shropshire(NW), 8-5.
2. #54 Reilly/Young(PSU) def. Kumar/Zieba(NW), 8-2.
3. Kohan/Lutschaunig(PSU) vs. Baev/Kirchheimer(NW), 7-7, unfinished.
Order of Finish:2,1
Singles:
1. #50 Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) def. #37 Raleigh Smith(NW), 6-2, 6-2.
2. #113 Sam Shropshire(NW) def. Russell Bader(PSU), 7-6(3), 6-4.
3. Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Konrad Zieba(NW), 6-3, 7-6(6).
4. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Mihir Kumar(NW), 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-4.
5. Strong Kirchheimer(NW) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), 6-1, 6-3.
6. Alex Pasarneau(NW) def. Michael Reilly(PSU), 2-6, 6-3, (10-7).
Order of Finish: 1,2,3,5,4,6