March 13, 2015
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 48 Penn State men's tennis team revenged last Saturday's loss to No. 73 VCU, winning 4-1 on Friday at the USF Spring Break Tournament, played at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. The Nittany Lions lost the doubles point, but earned wins at the bottom four singles positions and dropped only one set in singles. Penn State improved to 6-8 this spring, while VCU fell to 12-6.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, will take on the winner of the No. 25 Drake and UNC Wilmington on Saturday at 2 p.m.
"Rarely do you play a team two times within the same week," said Zinn. "We had a very good week of practice down here. We got acclimated to the heat and conditions. We made a change in the lineup and got some of our guys in there that play better outdoors and they played well."
Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) matched up against the Rams' Daryl Monfils at the No. 3 singles position. The junior won a tough opening set, 7-6, claiming the tiebreaker set, 7-5. He kept his momentum going in the following set, winning 6-0. Barry is now 9-3 this spring and has 13 wins overall.
Senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) took on Joseph Cohen at No. 4. Hanzlik earned the win in a tight first set, 7-6, winning the tiebreaker, 7-2. Hanzlik dominated the second set, winning 6-0. He improved to 5-4 this spring.
At No. 5, sophomore Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) met VCU's Wilder Pimentel. The sophomore won the first set, 6-4. He completed the straight-set win, taking the second set, 6-3. Dolidze is 2-3 this spring.
Fellow sophomore Marc Collado (Barcelona, Spain) competed against Antonio Batlle Rodriguez at No. 6. The Barcelona native earned a 6-4 victory in the first set and followed that up with a 6-4 win in the second set to complete the sweep. Collado is now 3-0 this spring.
Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) took on the Rams' Michal Voscek at No. 1. The sophomore won the first set, 6-4. Fennell was tied 6-6 in the second set when the match was stopped.
Junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) faced VCU's Catalin Fifea at No. 2. Stakhovsky won the opening set, 6-4, but Fifea responded, winning the second set, 6-3. Stakhovsky was leading 3-2 in the deciding set when the match was abandoned.
The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point against the Rams, falling at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.
Fennell and senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) combined at No. 2, but were defeated, 6-4, by VCU's Fifea and Pimentel. The Penn State pair is now 2-2 this spring.
At No. 3, Barry and sophomore Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) paired up against the Rams' Batlle Rodriguez and Voscek. The Nittany Lion duo dropped a 6-4 decision, they are now 1-1 in dual matches.
Sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and Stakhovsky, ranked 75th in the ITA Doubles Poll, were trailing 5-4 against Joseph Cohen and Daryl Monfils at No. 1 when the match was stopped.
"It's good to redeem ourselves against VCU," said Tobin. "We started off slow in doubles and lacked the intensity we saw in practice. The heat seemed to have been an issue for VCU in singles. Our guys were fit and had no issues with battling the conditions. We just played well. Now we have to continue our fire against Drake or UNC Wilmington on Saturday."
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Doubles:
1. #75 Laaribi/Stakhovsky(PSU) vs. Cohen/Monfils(VCU), 4-5, unfinished.
2. Fifea/Pimentel (VCU) def. Fennell/Reilly(PSU), 6-4.
3. Batlle Rodriguez/Voscek(VCU) def. Barry/Lutschaunig(PSU), 6-4.
Order of Finish: 2,3
Singles:
1. Alex Fennell(PSU) vs. Michal Voscek(VCU), 6-4, 6-6, unfinished.
2. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) vs. Catalin Fifea(VCU), 6-4, 3-6, 3-2, unfinished.
3. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Daryl Monfils(VCU), 7-6(5), 6-0.
4. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Joseph Cohen(VCU), 7-6(2), 6-0.
5. Nika Dolidze(PSU) def. Wilder Pimentel(VCU), 6-4, 6-3.
6. Marc Collado(PSU) def. Antonio Batlle Rodriguez(VCU), 6-4, 6-4.
Order of Finish: 3,4,5,6