Nov. 1, 2014
ORLANDO, Fla. - Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) picked up consolation match wins on Saturday as the Penn State men's tennis team wrapped up play at the USTA Clay Court Invitational presented by Visit Florida. The tournament was hosted by Florida State at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
"Overall, it was a great experience at a great site," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "ESPN Wide World of Sports put on a great tournament. The TV exposure is great for college tennis and there was some very good competition this weekend. Playing on clay was also a good experience, giving these guys a different surface to play on and that experience will make them better tennis players."
After dropping a tough Round of 32 match on Friday, Barry bounced back with a straight-set, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Georgia Tech's Carlos Benito. The junior went 2-1 this weekend to improve to 4-3 this fall.
Hanzlik also responded after a tough loss on Friday in the Round of 32. The senior matched up against Miami's Wilfredo Gonzalez. The Prague native dropped the first set, 6-1, but came back with a 6-3 win in the second set. In the deciding set, played as a super-tiebreaker, Hanzlik came out on top, 8-6. Hanzlik also went 2-1 in Orlando.
Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) faced Florida's Richard Brej in another consolation match. Brej took the first set, 6-4, but Fennell responded with his own 6-4 set win. In a tight super-tiebreaker set, Brej won 14-12. Fennell is now 4-4 in tournament play this fall.
Battling an injury, sophomore Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) still played his consolation match, but lost to Georgia Tech's Michael Kay. Dolidze played two very tight matches this weekend, defeating South Alabama's Tuki Jacobs and dropping a match against USC's Rob Bellamy.
Penn State's doubles pairs, Barry/Fennell and Dolidze/Hanzlik, both picked up a win this weekend and suffered close losses in the quarterfinal round.
The Nittany Lions travel to the William & Mary Invitational next weekend, November 7-9.
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.
Quarterfinals) Gracia/Gonzalez Mendez(FSU) def. Barry/Fennell(PSU), 8-7.
Tomic/VanDooren(AUB) def. Dolidze/Hanzlik(PSU), 8-6.
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.
Round of 32) Rob Bellamy(USC) def. Nika Dolidze(PSU), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).
Diego Hidalgo(UF) def. Matt Barry(PSU), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4).
Consolation Friday) Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Reece Acree(UCF), 7-6(5), 6-0.
Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Graham Ball(Stetson), 6-0, 6-4.
Consolation Saturday) Matt Barry(PSU) def. Carlos Benito(GT), 6-4, 6-3.
Michael Kay(GT) def. Nika Dolidze(PSU), 6-1, 6-0.
Richard Brej(UF) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(14-12).
Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Wilfredo Gonzalez(Miami), 1-6, 6-3, 1-0(8-6).