April 13, 2014
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 16 Penn State men's tennis team dropped to 19-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten, falling 4-2 against No. 69 Indiana on Sunday at the IU Varsity Tennis Center. Penn State won the doubles point, but could not carry that momentum into the singles portion. Indiana improved to 14-14 overall and 3-6 in conference play.
Penn State picked up the doubles point for the 20th time in 23 matches.
Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) and Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine), ranked 30th in the ITA Poll, matched up against another ranked team, Indiana's 65th-ranked pair, Daniel Bednarczyk and Sam Monette. The Penn State duo earned an 8-2 win to improve to 14-5 and pick up their third win against a ranked opponent.
At No. 3 doubles, Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) took on the Hoosiers' Chris Essick and Stefan Lugonjic. The Nittany Lions pair won 8-5 to clinch the doubles point for Penn State. They moved to 3-0 this spring and 7-0 overall.
In the matchup at No. 2 doubles, Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) and Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) competed against Indiana's Dimitrije Tasic and Sven Lalic. The Indiana pair earned an 8-3 win. Reilly and Young dropped to 12-2 this spring.
Trkulja competed against the Hoosiers' Elliott Yee. The sophomore picked up a quick 6-0 win in the first set and followed it up with a 6-1 win in the second set. Trkulja improved to 12-10 this spring.
The senior, Bader, matched up at No. 2 singles against Indiana's Monette, ranked 103rd in the nation. Monette won the first set 6-4. Bader led 3-0 early in the second set, but Monette rallied back for a 7-5 win. Bader fell to 17-6 this spring and 24-10 overall.
At No. 3 singles, freshman Alex Fennell(Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) met the Hoosiers' Bednarczyk. In the first set, Bednarczyk won 6-3, but Fennell responded with a 6-4 win in the second set. In the deciding set, Bednarczyk won 6-1. Fennell dropped to 13-9 in dual matches.
Barry faced Dimitrije Tasic in the fourth singles position. Tasic won the first set, 6-2. In a back-and-forth second set, Tasic came out on top, 7-5. Barry is now 14-4 this spring.
At the sixth singles spot, Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) competed against the Hoosiers' Chris Essick. In a straight set win, Essick won 6-2, 6-2. Castells dropped to 8-7 in dual matches.
Leo Stakhovsky, ranked 33rd in the nation, matched up against Sven Lalic at the top singles spot. Lalic won the first set, 6-4. In the second set, Stakhovsky was trailing 5-4 when the match was stopped.
"It was a disappointing loss to Indiana, especially after taking the doubles point," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "We didn't seem to hold the momentum and had some chances in key positions. Indiana came to play, they certainly did not look like a lower ranked team today. We just have to learn from this and focus on our matches next weekend."
The Nittany Lions return home next weekend to finish their Big Ten schedule. They take on No. 62 Nebraska at 3 p.m. on Friday and Iowa at Noon on Sunday. The team will honor Russell Bader and Chris Young on Sunday as part of Senior Day.
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com throughout the week for more coverage of the Penn State men's tennis team. Updates are also available on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.
Doubles:
1. #30 Bader/Stakhovsky(PSU) def. #65 Bednarczyk/Monette(Ind), 8-2.
2. Tasic/Lalic(Ind) def. #54 Reilly/Young(PSU), 8-3.
3. Barry/Trkulja(PSU) def. Essick/Lugonjic(Ind), 8-5.
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles:
1. #33 Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) vs. Sven Lalic(Ind), 4-6, 4-5, unfinished.
2. #103 Sam Monette(Ind) def. Russell Bader(PSU), 6-4, 7-5.
3. Daniel Bednarczyk(Ind) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
4. Dimitrije Tasic(Ind) def. Matt Barry(PSU), 6-2, 7-5.
5. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Elliott Yee(Ind), 6-0, 6-1.
6. Chris Essick(Ind) def. Marc Collado Castells(PSU), 6-2, 6-2.
Order of Finish: 6,5,2,4,3