Feb. 1, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 16 Penn State men's tennis team(3-1) split their doubleheader on Sunday. The Nittany Lions dropped a 5-2 result against Penn in the opening match, but responded with a 7-0 shutout win over Temple in the second match. Penn State dropped the doubles point against the Quakers, but got wins at No. 2 and 3. Against the Owls, Penn State swept the doubles matches and did not drop a set in singles.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, lost the doubles point against Penn, but bounced back to win it against Temple, sweeping all three matches.
"We did not play very well against Penn," said Zinn. "I think we were a little too confident coming in after last weekend. Penn came in ready to play. We didn't get many breaks and we didn't get many 3-3 points and in the new format, that can hurt you. Against Temple, we were able to get some guys in that haven't played yet. It was good to get Nika, Marc and Christian in."
Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) combined at No. 2 doubles against Penn's Austin Kaplan and Marshall Sharp. The Nittany Lion duo jumped out to a 2-0 lead on their way to a 6-1 win. In their second match of the day, the pair earned a 6-4 win against the Owls' Hicham Belkssir and Nicolas Paulus. They improved to 4-0 this spring and 6-2 overall.
In the second match, senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) combined with sophomore Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) at No. 3 against Temple's Santiago Canete and Ondre Cargill. The Penn State pair claimed a 6-2 victory. It was the first time this season that Reilly and Collado Castells played together.
At the top doubles spot against Penn, Reilly and junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) paired up against Jeremy Court and Nicolas Podesta. The Penn State pair tied it up at 5-5, but Penn took the next two games to win, 7-5. Reilly and Stakhovsky are now 0-2 this spring and 4-6 overall.
Sophomores Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) teamed up against Temple's Ian Glessing and Vineet Naran in a 6-1 win to clinch the doubles point. The duo is now 3-3 this year.
Sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) competed against Penn's Vim De Alwis and Matt Nardella, but fell 6-2. Laaribi and Trkulja are now 0-2 in dual matches and 5-5 overall.
Fennell matched up against Penn's Vim De Alwis at No. 2. The sophomore earned a straight-set win, 6-3, 6-3. Fennell played at the top singles spot against Temple, earning a straight-set win, 6-4, 6-2, against Santiago Canete. With the wins, he improved to 2-2 this spring and 6-6 overall.
Barry took on the Quakers' Jeremy Court at No. 3. Barry rallied to tie the first set at 6-6 and then won a tough tiebreaker, 8-6, to claim the set. He carried his momentum into the next set with a 6-2 win to tie the match score at 2-2. Barry moved up to No. 2 in the lineup against the Owls as he faced Nicolas Paulus. The junior earned another sweep, 6-2, 6-0. Barry improved to 4-0 this spring and 8-3 overall.
At the third singles spot against Temple, Dolidze competed against Filip Stipcic. The sophomore dominated the first set, winning 6-0. Down 3-2 in the second set, Dolidze won four straight points to win the set, 6-3. Dolidze picked up his first win of the spring and his seventh overall.
Trkulja faced the Quakers' Matt Nardella at No. 4. Nardella took the first set, 6-4. Trkulja jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Nardella came back to win 6-4. The junior bounced back against Temple with a 6-2, 6-4, win at No. 4 against Hicham Belkssir. Trkulja is now 2-1 in dual matches and 8-4 overall.
In the sixth singles position, senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) competed against the Quakers' Blaine Willenborg. Hanzlik rallied to tie the first set at 5-5, but Willenborg won the next two points to win the set, 7-5. The senior bounced back to win the next set, 6-3. In the final super tiebreaker set, Hanzlik fell 10-5. Against Temple, Hanzlik played at No. 5. In the first set, Hanzlik shook off a 3-2 deficit to win four straight games and the set, 6-3. He continued his momentum in the second set, winning 6-0. He is now 2-1 this spring and 8-6 overall.
Collado Castells competed at the sixth singles spot against Temple, matching up against Ondre Cargill. The Barcelona native jumped out to a 3-0 lead on his way to a 6-1 first set win. In the next set, Collado Castells continued his strong performance with a 6-0 victory. The sophomore won his first match of the spring and now has five wins overall.
A junior, Stakhovsky, competed against Penn's Nicolas Podesta at the top singles spot. After falling 6-2 in the first set, Stakhovsky bounced back with a 6-1 win in the second set. Tied 4-4 in the third set, Podesta won the next two games to clinch the match. Stakhovsky dropped to 1-2 in dual matches.
At the fifth singles spot, Laaribi matched up against Penn's Josh Pompan. The sophomore won the first set, 6-2, but Pompan took the second set, 7-5. Laaribi was trailing 4-0 in the final set when he retired due to injury. Laaribi is now 2-1 this spring and 7-4 overall.
"A very disappointing loss, especially after coming off a great weekend in Kentucky," said Tobin. "The players struggled to find any kind of momentum and it seemed like the energy was zapped out of them. We certainly had opportunities to get the win, but Penn did a much better job in the pressure points. We struggled with many deuce points, which you can't do with this quick format. We're going to have to regroup and some players have to evaluate their games. Hopefully we can turn things around quickly."
The Nittany Lions travel to Blacksburg, Va. next weekend to take on No. 34 Virginia Tech. The match begins on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com for more 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.
Penn 5, No. 16 Penn State 2
Doubles:
1. Court/Podesta(Penn) def. Reilly/Stakhovsky(PSU), 7-5.
2. Barry/Fennell(PSU) def. Kaplan/Sharp(Penn), 6-1.
3. De Alwis/Nardella(Penn) def. Laaribi/Trkulja(PSU), 6-2.
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
Singles:
1. Nicolas Podesta(Penn) def. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU), 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
2. Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Vim De Alwis(Penn), 6-3, 6-3.
3. Matt Barry(PSU) vs. Jeremy Court(Penn), 7-6(6), 6-2.
4. Matt Nardella(Penn) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), 6-4, 6-4.
5. Josh Pompan(Penn) def. Aws Laaribi(PSU), 2-6, 7-5, 4-0, ret.
6. Blaine Willenborg(Penn) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 7-5, 3-6, (10-5).
Order of Finish: 4,2,3,1,5,6
No. 16 Penn State 7, Temple 0
Doubles:
1. Barry/Fennell(PSU) def. Belkssir/Paulus(TU), 6-4.
2. Dolidze/Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Glessing/Naran(TU), 6-1.
3. Collado/Reilly(PSU) def. Canete/Cargill(TU), 6-2.
Order of Finish:3,2,1
Singles:
1. Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Santiago Canete(TU), 6-4, 6-2.
2. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Nicolas Paulus(TU), 6-2, 6-0.
3. Nika Dolidze(PSU) def. Filip Stipcic(TU), 6-0, 6-3.
4. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Hicham Belkssir(TU), 6-2, 6-4.
5. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Vineet Naran(TU), 6-3, 6-0.
6. Marc Collado(PSU) def. Ondre Cargill(TU), 6-1, 6-0.
Order of Finish:2,1,4,3,6,5