April 20, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 22 Penn State men's tennis team earned a 6-1 win against Iowa on Senior Day at Sarni Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions again clinched the doubles point and won five singles matches. Penn State finished the regular season with a record of 21-4 overall and 8-3 in the Big Ten. Iowa dropped to 9-14 overall and 1-10 in conference play.
During a ceremony between the doubles and singles portions of the match, Penn State honored seniors Russell Bader (Austin, Texas), Ramy Labna (Doha, Qatar) and Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) in their final home match.
"It was a beautiful Easter Sunday to play a great match outside," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "It was nice to get a win. I thought we played really well this weekend. We basically lost only one match throughout the weekend and it's hard to do that against quality opponents in the Big Ten."
With the win, Penn State extended their program-best win totals both overall and in conference play. The Nittany Lions also finished the season with a 15-0 record at home.
With No. 28 Purdue's loss against No. 49 Michigan on Sunday, Penn State clinched the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which begins on Wednesday. Penn State will receive a first-round bye and play their quarterfinal match on Thursday. At No. 3, Penn State earns the highest seed in the tournament in program history.
"We got a little help from Michigan and Michigan State this weekend and so that moved us into third in the Big Ten Tournament," said Zinn. "I know all of us are excited about the high seed and hopefully we can live up to that seeding and play to our capabilities. I know the guys are excited to make a stand in the Big Ten this year and get some momentum going into the NCAA Tournament."
The Nittany Lions won the doubles point for the 22nd time in 25 matches.
In the top doubles match, Bader and Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine), ranked 36th in the ITA Poll, knocked off Iowa's Brian Alden and Michael Swank, 8-3. The duo improved to 16-5 this spring.
With the win, Bader passed Michael James (2004-08) to move into second place on the all-time doubles wins list at Penn State. The senior now has 79 career wins, four behind his former partner, Eddie Bourchier (2007-11).
Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) remained undefeated at No. 3 doubles with their 8-7(3) win against the Hawkeye's Chase Tomlins and Joey White to clinch the doubles point for Penn State. The duo moved to 5-0 this spring and 9-0 overall.
Junior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) and Young took on Iowa's Jonas Dierckx and Matt Hagan at the second doubles position. Iowa was leading 5-4 when the match was stopped. Reilly and Young finished the regular season with a mark of 13-2.
At No. 2 singles, Bader faced the Hawkeyes' Brian Alden. The senior won the first set 6-4. He dropped the first game of the second set, but that would be the only one as he won the set, 6-1. Bader picked up his 19th win of the spring and 26th overall.
With his singles win, Bader also moved into fourth place on the all-time singles wins list, passing Mark Barry (2002-06). Bader now has 93 career wins, one behind Michael Carter (1993-97) for third place.
Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) competed against Iowa's Juan Estenssoro at the third singles position. The freshman earned a straight-set win, 6-3, 6-1. Fennell improved to 15-9 this spring and 19-12 overall.
At the No. 4 singles spot, Barry took on Matt Hagan. The sophomore won the first set, 6-1, but Hagan responded with a 6-4 win in the second set. In the deciding set, Barry trailed 5-4, but won the last three games to take the match. Barry earned his 25th win overall and 16th in dual matches.
Trkulja picked up his 14th win of the spring with his 6-2, 6-3 victory against the Hawkeyes' Dominic Patrick. He improved to 22-14 overall and has won three straight matches.
Freshman Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) started his second straight match, this time facing Iowa's Michael Swank. In the first set, Dolidze trailed 3-2, but won the final four games to take the set. In the second set, won, 6-3, to clinch the match point for Penn State. Dolidze moved to 3-0 this spring and 13-7 overall.
Stakhovsky matched up against Jonas Dierckx at the top singles spot. Dierckx won the first set, 6-3, and won a back-and-forth second set, 6-4. Stakhovsky dropped to 17-5 this spring.
"What great ways to close out an historic regular season with a solid win against Iowa," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "After a tough weekend last week, we bounced back strong and played well outdoors. Iowa pushed us at a few positions today, but we did a great job to close it out. We're looking forward to a few really good practices this week in preparation for the Big Ten Championships."
The Nittany Lions are back in action on Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Michigan State.
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com throughout the week for updates on 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. #36 Bader/Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Alden/Swank(Iowa), 8-3.
2. Reilly/Young(PSU) vs. Dierckx/Hagan(Iowa), 4-5, unfinished.
3. Kohan/Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Tomlins/White(Iowa), 8-7(3).
Order of Finish:1,3
Singles:
1. Jonas Dierckx(Iowa) def. #33 Leo Stakhovsky(PSU), 6-3, 6-4.
2. Russell Bader(PSU) def. Brian Alden(Iowa), 6-4, 6-1.
3. Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Juan Estenssoro(Iowa), 6-3, 6-1.
4. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Matt Hagan(Iowa), 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.
5. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Dominic Patrick(Iowa), 6-2, 6-3.
6. Nika Dolidze(PSU) def. Michael Swank(Iowa), 6-3, 6-3.
Order of Finish: 2,5,1,6,3,4