March 29, 2015
EVANSTON, Ill. - The No. 50 Penn State men's tennis team fell 7-0 at No. 19 Northwestern on Sunday at the Combe Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions won at No. 3 doubles, but dropped the point. The Wildcats were strong in singles play, winning at all six positions. The Nittany Lions are now 9-12 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats are 13-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
Next weekend, the Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, return home as they host Wisconsin on Friday at 4 p.m. On Sunday, they welcome No. 31 Minnesota at Noon and NJIT at 5 p.m.
The blue and white won at No. 3, but dropped the doubles point as the Wildcats won at the other two positions.
Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) competed at No. 3 against Northwestern's Alp Horoz and Mihir Kumar. The Nittany Lion duo took an early 4-1 advantage and closed out an 8-3 victory. It was the first time this spring that Barry and Reilly played together.
At the top doubles spot, sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) matched up against Alex Pasarneau and Sam Shropshire, ranked 69th in the ITA Doubles Poll. The Wildcats' pair jumped out to a 3-1 lead on their way to an 8-3 set win. Laaribi and Stakhovsky are now 7-7 this spring.
The doubles point came down to the match at two as sophomores Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) met Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer. The match was tied at 3-3, but Fennell and Lutschaunig fell 8-4. The pair is 0-2 in dual matches.
Fennell faced Shropshire at the top singles spot. Shropshire, ranked 92nd in the ITA Poll, won the first set, 6-3. Fennell took an early 3-1 lead in the second set, but Shropshire battled back to tie the set at 5-5. Shropshire won the next two points to claim the set and match. Fennell dropped to 8-12 this spring.
At the second singles position, Stakhovsky took on the Widlcats' Strong Kirchheimer, ranked 124th. Kirchheimer jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set and won it 6-1. Kirchheimer kept his momentum going in the next set, winning 6-2, after leading 3-0. Stakhovsky is now 7-10 in dual matches.
Barry competed at No. 3 against Northwestern's Konrad Zieba. The junior fell 6-4 in the opening set, but responded by winning the second set 6-3. In the deciding set, Zieba won 6-2. Barry dropped to 10-7 this spring.
Senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) met Logan Staggs. Hanzlik dropped the first set, 6-2. He took a 2-1 lead in the second set, but Staggs claimed the set, 6-3. Hanzlik is now 9-7 this spring.
At No. 5, Laaribi matched up against Fedor Baev. The sophomore jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in the opening frame and closed out the set, 6-3. The next set was tied at 3-3, but Baev got the final three points. In the deciding set, Laaribi fell 6-3. He dropped to 7-6 in dual matches.
Sophomore Marc Collado (Barcelona, Spain) got the start at No. 6 against Northwestern's Alp Horoz. The Wildcat won the first set, 6-2. Horoz took a 3-2 lead in the second set and won it 6-3. Collado is now 4-2 in dual matches.
"Northwestern played with a lot of energy today and it showed in both singles and doubles," said Tobin. "We need to regain our confidence level that we had early on in the season. We must fight harder to stay in these matches longer and close them out when we're up. We are practicing well, but can't seem to put it together when we are on the road. Looking forward to getting some Big 10 home matches in. It will be good to compete on our turf."
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Doubles:
1. #69 Pasarneau/Shropshire(NU) def. Laaribi/Stakhovsky(PSU), 8-3.
2. Baev/Kirchheimer(NU) def. Fennell/Lutschaunig(PSU), 8-4.
3. Barry/Reilly(PSU) def. Horoz/Kumar(NU), 8-3.
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
Singles:
1. #92 Sam Shropshire(NU) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-3, 7-5.
2. #124 Strong Kirchheimer(NU) def. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU), 6-1, 6-2.
3. Konrad Zieba(NU) def. Matt Barry(PSU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
4. Logan Staggs(NU) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-2, 6-3.
5. Fedor Baev(NU) def. Aws Laaribi(PSU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
6. Alp Horoz(NU) def. Marc Collado(PSU), 6-3, 6-2.
Order of Finish: 2,4,6,1,5,3