Sept. 28, 2014
PHILADELPHIA - The Penn State men's tennis team finished play at the Penn Invite on Sunday. Penn State played Penn in the final, but fell 5-4 in a hidden-dual format match. The Nittany Lions also completed the Pre-Qualifying Draw at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) faced N.C. State's Thomas Weigel in the second round of the Pre-Qualifying Draw. Fennell dropped the first set, 6-4, but responded with his own 6-4 win in the second set. In a tough deciding set, Weigel won 7-5.
In a Pre-Qualifying Draw consolation match, junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) took on Oregon's Alberto Reyes. Barry earned a straight-set, 6-3, 6-2, win. Barry finishes the weekend with a 1-1 mark.
Senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) also competed in a consolation match, meeting Middle Tennessee State's Dima Zyhmantovich, but fell 6-0, 6-2. This weekend was Hanzlik's first action in 11 months.
Junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) will begin play in the Main Draw bracket on Thursday. Stakhovsky is ranked 29th in the ITA Poll.
Stakhovsky and Fennell will compete in the Qualifying Doubles Draw, beginning on Monday.
Penn State reached Sunday's Penn Invite final after wins against St. Joseph's, Cornell and Princeton. They earned a matchup against the host school, Penn.
The Nittany Lions again played a hidden-dual format match, where there is no overall team score, but the teams earned a point for each singles win and each win at the top three doubles spots.
In the top doubles spot, junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) and sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) matched up against the Quakers' Austin Kaplan and Thomas Spratt. The Penn State duo earned a 6-4 victory. Trkulja and Laaribi went 3-0 this weekend.
Sophomore Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) and senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) competed at the No. 2 doubles position against Jeremy Court and Nicolas Podesta, but dropped a 6-3 decision.
Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) took on Vim De Alwis and Marshall Sharp at No. 3 doubles. The Nittany Lion pair claimed a 6-2 victory.
Trkulja faced the Quakers' Podesta at the top singles spot. The Toronto native took the first set, 6-3, but dropped the second set, 6-2. In a tough deciding set, Trkulja came out on top, 7-6(4). Trkulja finished the weekend with a 3-1 record.
The sophomore, Dolidze, matched up against Marshall Sharp at the No. 3 singles spot. After dropping the first set, 6-2, Dolidze bounced back to win the next set, 6-0. Dolidze kept his momentum going with a 6-3 win in the third set. Dolidze also went 3-1 in Philadelphia.
Laaribi competed at the second singles position against Jeremy Court. The sophomore took the first set, 6-3, but dropped the second set, 6-2. Court claimed the deciding set, 6-3. Laaribi picked up two wins in his first weekend as a Nittany Lion.
Fellow sophomore Collado Castells met Josh Pompan at the No. 4 spot, but dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision. The Barcelona native also earned two wins this weekend.
At the No. 5 singles position, Reilly fell in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-3, against Penn's Blaine Willenborg.
Another sophomore, Lutschaunig, matched up against Spratt at the sixth position. In a tough first set, Spratt won 7-6. Lutschaunig responded with a 6-3 win in the second set. However, Spratt won the match with a 6-3 third set.
"Penn got the best of us today," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "I am pleased with the way our players competed. We were in a few tough third sets today. Playing our 5-10 guys against their top six showed us that we have good depth in our lineup. We had several opportunities to close out a win. Overall, it was a positive weekend."
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com for 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.
ITA All-American Championships
Pre-Qualifying Draw:
1st Round) Matt Cowley(Utah) def. Matt Barry(PSU), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
2nd Round) Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Kenny Sabacinski(ND), 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Miroslav Herzan(Wich) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-4.
3rd Round) Thomas Weigel(NCST) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
Bonus Match) Matt Barry(PSU) def. Alberto Reyes(UO), 6-3, 6-2.
Dima Zyhmantovich(MTSU) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-0, 6-2.
Penn Invite
Penn 5, Penn State 3
Doubles:
1. Laaribi/Trkulja(PSU) def. Kaplan/Spratt(Penn), 6-4.
2. Court/Podesta(Penn) def. Dolidze/Reilly(PSU), 6-3.
3. Collado Castells/Lutschaunig(PSU) def. De Alwis/Sharp(Penn), 6-2.
Singles:
1. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Nicolas Podesta(Penn), 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4).
2. Jeremy Court(Penn) def. Aws Laaribi(PSU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
3. Nika Dolidze(PSU) def. Marshall Sharp(Penn), 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.
4. Josh Pompan(Penn) def. Marc Collado Castells(PSU), 6-2, 6-4.
5. Blaine Willenborg(Penn) def. Michael Reilly(PSU), 6-4, 6-3.
6. Thomas Spratt(Penn) def. Christian Lutschaunig(PSU), 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.