Nov. 7, 2014
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The Penn State men's tennis team finished play on the first day of the William & Mary Invitational. The tournament uses singles and doubles flight formats. Junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) and sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y) each earned singles wins on Friday.
The Nittany Lions competed in their singles flight against Harvard, who finished ranked 28th in the ITA Poll last spring.
Trkulja took on Kenny Tao in the No. 2 singles flight. The junior won the opening set, 6-3, but Tao responded by winning the second set, 6-3. Trkulja won the deciding set, 6-4.
At the No. 4 singles spot, Laaribi faced Shaun Chaudhuri. The sophomore won the opening set, 7-5, but dropped the second set, 6-3. Laaribi bounced back, winning the third set, 7-5.
Junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine), ranked 29th in the ITA Poll, matched up against Sebastian Beltrame at the top singles spot. Stakhovsky took the first set, 6-3, but Beltrame won the second set, 6-3. Another 6-3 result came in the third set, with Beltrame winning the frame.
Sophomore Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) met Alex Steinroeder at the No. 3 position, but dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision.
At the fifth singles spot, senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) fell 6-2, 6-1 against Nicky Hu.
Sophomore Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) dropped a 6-4, 6-3 result against Grant Solomon at No. 6 singles.
Sophomore Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) took on Jean Thirouin in a tight match at No. 7. Lutschaunig won the first set, 6-4, but Thirouin claimed the next set, 6-4. In a super tiebreaker set, Thirouin came out on top, 10-7.
Senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C) competed at the eighth singles spot against Andrew Ball, but fell 6-4, 6-4.
Penn State matched up against Harvard and William & Mary in doubles flight matches.
Collado Castells and Trkulja paired up and split two matches. Against William & Mary's Lars de Boer and Alec Miller, the Nittany Lion duo earned an 8-4 victory. They also faced Steinroeder and Tao, but fell 8-4.
Reilly and Stakhovsky entered the weekend with a 3-1 mark, but could not keep their success going in a pair of matches on Friday. Reilly and Stakhovsky dropped an 8-4 result against Harvard's Beltrame and Hu and an 8-6 decision against William & Mary's Christian Cargill and Will Juggins.
Dolidze and Lutschaunig also teamed up on Friday. The duo fell 8-4 against William & Mary's Austin Appleby and Damon Niquet and 8-2 against Harvard's Conor Haughey and Solomon.
The invitational continues on Saturday. Check back to GoPSUSports.com for updates throughout the weekend. Updates are also available on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.
Singles:
Sebastian Beltrame(Harvard) def. #29 Leo Stakhovsky(PSU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Kenny Tao(Harvard), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
Alex Steinroeder(Harvard) def. Nika Dolidze(PSU), 6-2, 6-4.
Aws Laaribi(PSU) def. Shaun Chaudhuri(Harvard), 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Nicky Hu(Harvard) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-2, 6-1.
Grant Solomon(Harvard) def. Marc Collado Castells(PSU), 6-4, 6-3.
Jean Thirouin(Harvard) def. Christian Lutschaunig(PSU), 4-6, 6-4, 10-7.
Andrew Ball(Harvard) def. Michael Reilly(PSU), 6-4, 6-4.
Doubles:
Beltrame/Hu(Harvard) def. Reilly/Stakhovsky(PSU), 8-4.
Steinroeder/Tao(Harvard) def. Collado Castells/Trkulja(PSU), 8-5.
Haughey/Solomon(Harvard) def. Dolidze/Lutschaunig(PSU), 8-2.
Cargill/Juggins(W&M) def. Reilly/Stakhovsky(PSU), 8-6.
Appleby/Niquet(W&M) def. Dolidze/Lutschaunig(PSU), 8-4.
Collado Castells/Trkulja(PSU) def. de Boer/Miller(W&M), 8-4.