March 15, 2015
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 48 Penn State men's tennis team closed out the USF Spring Break Tournament with a win on Sunday as they defeated No. 63 Tulane, 4-2. The Nittany Lions claimed third place in the eight-team, three-day tournament, played at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. On Sunday, Penn State dropped the doubles points, but earned singles wins at No. 2, 4, 5 and 6. The Nittany Lions improved to 7-9 this spring, while Tulane dropped to 12-6.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, went 2-1 at the USF Tournament. They knocked off No. 73 VCU, 4-1, on Friday, but fell 4-3 against UNC Wilmington on Saturday. Penn State now has five wins against opponents ranked in the ITA Top 75.
Junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) matched up against the Green Wave's Alex Van Cott at the No. 2 spot. Stakhovsky took the first set, 6-4, and dominated the second set, winning 6-0. Stakhovsky now has five wins this spring.
Senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) started at the No. 4 position against Sebastian Rey. In the first set, Hanzlik won 6-4. He followed that up with another 6-4 win in the next set. Hanzlik has won five straight matches.
At the fifth singles position, sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) met Tulane's Chi-Shan Jao. The sophomore claimed the opening set, 6-3. However, Jao responded by winning the next set, 6-1. Laaribi bounced back to win the deciding set, 6-4, to clinch the match point for Penn State. Laaribi improved to 5-4 in dual matches.
Junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) took on Ian Van Cott at the sixth singles spot. Trkulja won the opening set, 6-4. He finished off a straight-set win with a 6-2 victory in the second set. The junior has four wins this spring.
Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) faced Dominik Koepfer, ranked 13th in the ITA Poll. However, Koepfer won in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-1. Fennell is 6-9 this spring.
Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) competed against Constantin Schmitz at No. 3. Barry fell 6-3 in the opening set, but responded by winning the next set, 6-4. Barry was trailing 5-4 in the deciding set when the match was stopped.
The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point as they won at No. 2, but the Green Wave won at No. 1 and 3.
At No. 2 doubles, Fennell and senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) met the Van Cott brothers. The Nittany Lion duo won a tight set, 7-5. They improved to 3-2 in dual matches.
Laaribi and Stakhovsky, ranked 75th in the ITA Poll, matched up against Jao and Koepfer at the top doubles spot. Laaribi and Stakhovsky fell 6-2 to drop to 6-4 this spring.
Barry and sophomore Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) competed at No. 3 against Tulane's Rey and Schmitz. However, Tulane's pair on 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.
"Great way to end spring break," said Tobin. "After losing the doubles point, our singles players stepped up. We still have to work out some issues in doubles, otherwise we may not be so lucky against a stronger team. Overall, we're very happy starting the outdoor season on this note. Despite yesterday's tough loss, we pushed matches to three sets and gave the play players the confidence they needed to start the Big Ten matches this weekend."
Next weekend, the Nittany Lions return to their Big Ten schedule. They travel to Michigan State on Friday for a Noon match. On Sunday, they host No. 70 Michigan at Noon and Wagner at 6 p.m.
Please check back to GoPSUsports.com for more coverage of the Penn State men's tennis team. Follow the team on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.
Doubles:
1. Jao/Koepfer(TU) def. #75 Laaribi/Stakhovsky(PSU), 6-2.
2. Fennell/Reilly(PSU) def. Van Cott/Van Cott(TU), 7-5.
3. Rey/Schmitz(TU) def. Barry/Lutschaunig(PSU), 6-4.
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles:
1. #13 Dominik Koepfer(TU) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-2, 6-1.
2. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Alex Van Cott(TU), 6-4, 6-0.
3. Matt Barry(PSU) vs. Constantin Schmitz(TU), 3-6, 6-4, 4-5.
4. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Sebastian Rey(TU), 6-4, 6-4.
5. Aws Laaribi(PSU) def. Chi-Shan Jao(TU), 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
6. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Ian Van Cott(TU), 6-4, 6-2.
Order of Finish: 2,1,6,4,5