March 27, 2015
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The No. 50 Penn State men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision at No. 3 Illinois on Friday at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point and five singles matches, but junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) earned a three-set win at No. 2 against a ranked opponent. The blue and white are now 9-11 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The Fighting Illini improved to 16-3 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, continue their Big Ten slate on Sunday as they visit No. 19 Northwestern for a noon match. The Wildcats are 12-6 this spring, including 2-1 in conference action.
Penn State dropped the doubles point as the Illini won at No. 1 and No. 3.
Sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and Stakhovsky combined at the top doubles spot against Jared Hiltzik and Tim Kopinski, ranked 75th in the ITA Poll. The Nittany Lion duo took the first game, but the Illini gained a 5-2 advantage on their way to an 8-4 win to clinch the doubles point. Laaribi and Stakhovsky dropped to 7-6 this spring.
At No. 3 doubles, juniors Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) competed against Illinois' Farris Gosea and Aleks Vukic, but fell 8-1. Barry and Trkulja are now 0-2 in dual matches.
Sophomores Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) paired up at No. 2 against Ross Guignon and Aron Hiltzik. The Nittany Lions were trailing 6-3 when the match was stopped.
Fennell matched up at the top singles position against Jared Hiltzik, ranked 22nd in the ITA Poll. Hiltzik jumped out to a 4-0 lead on his way to a 6-1 set win. In a tight second set, Fennell held leads of 3-2 and 5-4, but could not close out the set as Hiltzik won 7-5. Fennell is now 8-11 this spring.
At No. 2, Stakhovsky took on the Illini's Gosea, ranked 64th. Stakhovsky took a 4-2 lead in the opening set on his way to winning the frame, 6-3. Gosea responded by winning the second set, 6-4. In a super-tiebreaker deciding set, it was tied 6-6, but Stakhovsky claimed four of the next five points to win the set and the match. Stakhovsky earned his seventh win of the spring and this third this year over a ranked opponent.
Matt Barry met Illinois' Tim Kopinski at No. 3. Kopinski, ranked 42nd, jumped out to an early 4-2 advantage in the first set and won it 6-2. In the next set, Kopinski gained a 2-1 lead and closed out the set, 6-3. Barry is now 10-6 in dual matches.
Senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) faced Aron Hiltzik, ranked 52nd, at the fourth singles spot. Hiltzik won the first set, 6-1, and continued his momentum in the second set, winning 6-2. Hanzlik dropped to 9-6 this spring.
Laaribi competed against the Illini's Aleks Vukic, ranked 50th, at the fifth singles position. The sophomore fell 6-3 in the opening set. Vukic jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the next set, winning 6-1. Laaribi is now 7-5 this spring.
At the sixth singles spot, Trkulja met Illinois' Toshiki Matsuya. In a tight first set, Trkulja forced a tiebreaker. In a back-and-forth tiebreaker, Matsuya came out on top, 9-7. Matsuya kept his momentum going in the next set, gaining a 5-2 lead. Trkulja took the next two games, but Matsuya finished the set, winning 6-4. The junior fell to 5-9 in dual matches.
"This could possibly be the best Illinois team I've seen," said Tobin. "I think we gave it our best effort, but they just out hit us on too many courts. Winning at Illinois, with their crowd is not easy. Some of the guys couldn't adjust to the speed of the courts and we knew that we had to be super aggressive inside the baseline if we wanted to win some matches. We need to focus on Northwestern this Sunday, I think it's going to be a battle."
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Doubles:
1. #75 J. Hiltzik/Kopinski(ILL) def. Laaribi/Stakhovsky(PSU), 8-4.
2. Fennell/Lutschaunig(PSU) vs. A. Hiltzik/Guignon(ILL), 3-6, unfinished.
3. Gosea/Vukic(ILL) def. Barry/Trkulja(PSU), 8-1.
Order of Finish: 3,1
Singles:
1. #22 Jared Hiltzik(ILL) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-1, 7-5.
2. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) def. #64 Farris Gosea(ILL), 6-3, 4-6, (10-7).
3. #42 Tim Kopinski(ILL) def. Matt Barry(PSU), 6-2, 6-3.
4. #52 Aron Hiltzik(ILL) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-1, 6-2.
5. #50 Aleks Vukic(ILL) def. Aws Laaribi(PSU), 6-3, 6-1.
6. Toshiki Matsuya(ILL) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), 7-6(7), 6-4.
Order of Finish: 4,5,3,1,2,6