Oct. 30, 2014
ORLANDO, Fla. - Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) battled USC senior Eric Johnson for over three hours and 40 minutes on Thursday at the USTA Collegiate Clay Court Invitational presented by Visit Florida. In the match, shown on ESPN3, Fennell rallied from down 4-0 in two different sets, but fell 7-5, 5-7, 7-5.
The tournament is hosted by Florida State at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. The Nittany Lions had a strong performance in doubles, with both pairs reaching the quarterfinals. Penn State also had two singles players advance on Thursday. ESPN3 will televise Sunday's matches, should Penn State advance to the final rounds.
"That was a great match between two really good players and good exposure for us for the match to be televised," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "Our program needs that kind of exposure and Alex really battled today against a very good opponent."
In the Round of 64 contest, Fennell took on Johnson, ranked 124th in the ITA Poll. Fennell rallied from down 4-0 in the first set to get within one point, down 6-5, but could not overtake Johnson, who won the set, 7-5.
Despite dropping the opening set, Fennell continued his momentum into the second set, taking a 3-1 lead on his way to a 7-5 set win. At one point between the sets, Fennell took eight of 12 points.
Johnson came out strong in the third set, taking another 4-0 advantage and later a 5-1 lead, but Fennell again rallied to come within 6-5. Down 40-0 in the fifth match point, Fennell fought back one more time to 40-40, but Johnson won the point to clinch the match. Fennell will play in a consolation match on Friday.
"Alex showed how talented he is and showed a lot of toughness, fighting off multiple match points in the final set," said Zinn. "Alex just couldn't find a way to break Johnson and that's the mark of a champion. Alex will continue to improve and that toughness is something that we've talked a lot about as a team this year."
In the doubles Round of 16, sophomore Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) and senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) combined to take on Clemson's Hunter Harrington and Alejandro Augusto, the No. 2 seed in the doubles draw and ranked 24th in the ITA Poll. The Nittany Lion duo upset the Clemson pair, 8-3. On Friday, Dolidze and Hanzlik will meet Auburn's Petar Tomic and Joseph Van Dooren.
The No. 4 seed in the draw, Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Fennell dominated in an 8-1 victory against Virginia Tech's Aaron Gomez and Rafael Ribas. In Friday's draw quarterfinal, they will face Florida State's Jose Gracia and Cristian Gonzalez Mendez.
Barry matched up against Stetson's Loic Blanco in the Round of 64 in the singles draw. Barry took the first set 6-3 and followed that up with another 6-3 set to earn a straight-set win. The junior meets Florida's Diego Hidalgo, the fifth seed in the draw, in Friday's Round of 32 match.
The sophomore, Dolidze, met South Alabama's Tuki Jacobs in the Round of 64. The Tbilisi native claimed the opening set, 6-4, but Jacobs responded by winning the second set, 7-5. In a tight deciding set, Dolidze came out on top, 7-6(3). In the Round of 32, Dolidze takes on USC's Rob Bellamy.
In his Round of 64 match, Hanzlik faced Princeton's Josh Yablon. In a straight-set match, Yablon won 6-3, 6-3. Hanzlik will also play a consolation match on Friday.
The tournament homepage can be found here: http://www.seminoles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&SPSID=917069&SPID=157121&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209717376&DB_OEM_ID=32900.
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com throughout the weekend for more coverage of the USTA Collegiate Clay Court Invitational. Updates are also available on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.
Doubles:
Round of 16) Barry/Fennell(PSU) def. Gomez/Ribas(VT), 8-1.
Dolidze/Hanzlik(PSU) def. #24 Augusto/Harrington(Clem), 8-3.
Singles:
Round of 64) Matt Barry(PSU) def. Loic Blanco(Stetson), 6-3, 6-3.
Nika Dolidze(PSU) def. Tuki Jacobs(So. Alabama), 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(3).
#124 Eric Johnson(USC) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 7-5, 5-7, 7-5.
Josh Yablon(Princeton) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-3, 6-3.