Jan. 23, 2015
By Sean Donnelly, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Expectations are high for Penn State head coach Jeff Zinn and his men's tennis squad this year following a 2014 campaign where the Nittany Lions reached the second round of their sixth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. They will begin the season ranked 26th, which is the highest preseason ranking in program history. Coach Zinn, now in his third season at Penn State, is aiming to improve on last season's success.
The Nittany Lions will begin the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on the road against No. 12 Kentucky (Friday at 1 p.m.). The winner will face No. 20 Vanderbilt or No. 23 South Florida.
"We haven't been invited for a number of years, so it's a nice honor to be invited to play in this tournament," said coach Zinn. "The other three teams we could potentially play against are all Top 25 teams. We are right in that mix. It's going to be a nice start to the season."
The Nittany Lions finished their record-setting 2014 season at No. 24 in the country, with an impressive 22-6 overall record, and finishing 8-3 in Big Ten play. They finished the last seven weeks comfortably inside the Top 25. They eventually fell to No. 4 Virginia, who reached the NCAA Semifinals.
Zinn expects the entire team to improve on marks from last year, and back up the high ranking the group has been given this season. Michael Reilly and Tomas Hanlik, the only two returning seniors, look to provide leadership to a team that features five talented sophomores.
Leo Stakhovsky and Matt Barry, both of whom are juniors, are looking to improve on their stellar seasons.
"Stakhovsky had a fantastic year as a sophomore," Zinn said. "He's got to come back this year and back that up. You got to come back as good or better. That's what we want. The target's on his back because he did so well last year. Everyone is going to be gunning for him."
Barry who posted winning records in singles and doubles play, was very reliable last season when in crucial situations.
"We have Matt Barry who's our Mr. Clutch. He pulls a lot of matches out for us. We have some players that we expect big things from this year," said Zinn.
Sophomore Nika Dolidze and Tomas Hanzlik, who both had six wins each in singles this fall, head into the season ranked 59th in the ITA Doubles Poll. The pair's best win this this fall came against Clemson's 60th ranked Alejandro Augusto and Hunter Harrington.
Aws Laaribi, a sophomore who transferred from Wake Forrest, picked up five wins this fall, including three at the William & Mary Invitational. This fall was his first game action with Penn State. He described his decision to transfer to Penn State as an easy one.
"When I was looking at schools, Penn State was one of my top choices," said Laaribi. "When I saw them doing really well last season, I thought that it may be the best school for me."
Laaribi feels good about the team's chances in starting off the season well at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend and regular season play. He went on to credit the conditioning and fitness that Coach Zinn and his staff, which they hope pays off this season.
"I feel good about the team. We've been working on our fitness a lot, and we feel good going up against Kentucky. He's had a great preseason practice" said Coach Zinn. "He's going to be a great addition to our team in both doubles and singles."
After the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Kentucky, seven of Penn State's next nine matches will be played at home. One of those home games will be against No. 5 Ohio State. Penn State is looking to capitalize on its success at home, posting a 15-0 record last season in Happy Valley.
"We do well at home. We have good crowds, and a great atmosphere at the indoor and outdoor tennis center," Zinn said. "Hopefully that non-conference portion of our schedule will help us going into and competing against Ohio State."
This year is looking to be another stout year for the conference, as two Big Ten teams are ranked inside the top 25. Ohio State and Illinois are ranked No. 5 and No. 11, respectively, as both advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year.
"The Big Ten is really strong this year. Illinois is going to be a top 5 - 10 team with Ohio State. Minnesota's a very good and very dangerous team. I think we're up in there with all those teams. I think we're very dangerous. We're returning five or six players, so hopefully everyone has gotten a bit better. We've added two new players. Hopefully we can make teams not so confident coming in to play us."
The Nittany Lions will look to improve on last season's success with a healthy balance of experience and talent. You can catch their first home matches against Penn, James Madison and Temple on Sunday, Feb. 1. If last season's success is any indication, opponents will have to bring their `A game' when traveling to Happy Valley.