March 20, 2015
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 42 Penn State men's tennis team fought from down 3-1 to tie the match, but Michigan State came out on top, 4-3, on Friday at the MSU Outdoor Courts. The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point, but got singles wins at No. 1, 2 and 5. However, Michigan State won the deciding set at No. 3 to clinch the match point. Penn State fell to 7-10 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten this spring, while Michigan State improved to 9-8 and 1-0.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, return home on Sunday for a doubleheader. They take on Big Ten foe Michigan (3-8, 0-0) at Noon and non-conference opponent Wagner (7-6) at approximately 6 p.m.
Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) matched up at the top singles spot against the Spartans' Gijs Linders, ranked 123rd in the ITA Poll. Fennell jumped out to an early 2-1 advantage on his way to a 6-2 set win. In the following set, the sophomore continued his momentum, taking a 4-1 lead before winning the frame, 6-3. Fennell now has six wins this spring, with this being his first over a ranked opponent.
At the No. 2 position, junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) took on Brett Forman. Stakhovsky claimed the opening set, 6-2, but Forman responded by winning the next set, 6-3. Stakhovsky held a 4-1 advantage in the deciding set and was able to close it out, winning 6-4. He improved to 6-8 this spring and has won three straight matches.
Sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) started at No. 5 against Michigan State's Michael Dube. After the two traded the first seven games of the first set, Laaribi came out on top 6-4. Laaribi took the first game of the second set, but Dube controlled it the rest of the frame, winning 6-1. Laaribi bounced back to win a tight third set, 6-4. The sophomore is now 5-5 in dual matches.
Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) competed at No. 3 against Harry Jadun. In the first set, Barry was tied 3-3 before he broke the set open, winning 6-3. A close second set went to a tiebreaker, with Jadun coming out on top in the tiebreaker to win 7-6. In the deciding set, Barry fought back from down 3-1 to get within 4-3, but Jadun closed out the win, 6-4, and clinched the match point. Barry dropped to 9-5 this spring.
Senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) entered his match at No. 4 on a five-match win streak. However, the Spartans' Mac Roy jumped out to a 4-0 lead on his way to a 6-2 first set victory. Roy kept his momentum going in the second set, taking a 4-2 advantage before winning 6-4. Hanzlik fell to 7-5 in dual matches.
Sophomore Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) met Michigan State's Jasper Koenen at the sixth spot. Koenen took a 3-0 first set lead before winning the frame, 6-3. Trkulja could not bounce back in the second set, falling 6-2. He is now 4-8 this spring.
The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point as the Spartans won at the No. 1 and 3 positions.
Laaribi and Stakhovsky, ranked 75th in the ITA Poll, combined at the top spot against the Spartans' Jadun and John Patrick Mullane, ranked 21st. Laaribi and Stakhovsky held a 5-4 lead, but could not hang on as the Michigan State pair won 8-6. Laaribi and Stakhovsky dropped to 6-5 this spring.
Barry and sophomore Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) met Michigan State's Koenen and Doug Zade at No. 3. The Spartans took a 5-3 lead and closed out the set, winning 8-4. The Penn State pair is now 2-3 in dual matches.
At the No. 2 doubles position, Fennell and senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) paired up against Forman and Linders. The Nittany Lion duo held a 3-2 lead, but the Spartans were leading 7-4 when the match was stopped.
"Very disappointing loss, but we need to bounce back quickly and get ready for Michigan on Sunday," said Tobin. "I think we struggled with a bunch of stuff today. The wind and colder weather made it tough for some players to put the ball away sooner and forced longer rallies in tough conditions. Some guys did a poor job of adjusting to the elements and continued to play indoor tennis. We also didn't play well in doubles and could not get aggressive enough at the net. This has got to improve or we will always have to pick up four points in singles and that's really tough. We still have plenty of conference matches to go, so we need to learn from this tight loss and get better."
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Doubles:
1. #21 Jadun/Mullane(MSU) def. #75 Laaribi/Stakhovsky(PSU), 8-6.
2. Fennell/Reilly(PSU) vs. Forman/Linders(MSU), 4-7, unfinished.
3. Koenen/Zade(MSU) def. Barry/Trkulja(PSU), 8-4.
Order of Finish: 1,3
Singles:
1. Alex Fennell(PSU) def. #123 Gijs Linders(MSU), 6-2, 6-3.
2. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Brett Forman(MSU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
3. Harry Jadun(MSU) def. Matt Barry(PSU), 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
4. Mac Roy(MSU) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-2, 6-4.
5. Aws Laaribi(PSU) def. Michael Dube(MSU), 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
6. Jasper Koenen(MSU) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), 6-3, 6-2.
Order of Finish: 6,1,4,2,5,3