April 17, 2015
LINCOLN, Neb. - The No. 51 Penn State men's tennis team picked up a Big Ten road win in the final weekend of the regular season, defeating Nebraska, 4-2, on Friday. The Nittany Lions earned the doubles points and victories at the bottom three singles positions. Penn State improved to 14-14 overall and 4-6 in conference play. The Huskers dropped to 10-12 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten.
On Sunday, the Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, finish the regular season at No. 66 Iowa. The match begins at Noon. The Hawkeyes are 12-9 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten.
"Overall it was a great team effort today," said Zinn. "We played nine of our 10 guys today and they all contributed, that's what it means to be a team. The bottom guys in our lineup played well, including Nika, who got in the lineup today. Sunday is a big match for us at Iowa and we're looking for a strong finish to our season before the Big Ten Tournament."
Penn State won the doubles point, earning victories at the No. 1 and 3 positions.
Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) and junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) combined at the top doubles spot for an 8-5 victory against the Huskers' Dusty Boyer and Bradford Zitsch. It was the first time this spring that they paired up.
At the No. 3 doubles position, sophomores Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) earned an 8-4 win over Nebraska's Marc Herrmann and Charlie Shin. The Nittany Lion duo is 2-0 this spring.
Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) competed at the second doubles position against Scott Elsass and Linus Erhart. The Penn State pair was tied 7-7 when the match was stopped.
Senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) met the Huskers' Andrew Dzulynsky at the fourth singles spot. Hanzlik won his opening set, 6-4. Hanzlik kept his momentum going in the second set, winning 6-2. Hanzlik earned his 15th win this spring.
At the fifth singles position, junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) competed against Nebraska's Zitsch. The junior claimed the first set, 6-2, but dropped the second set, 6-2. In the deciding set, Trkulja dominated, winning 6-0. He improved to 10-10 in dual matches and won his fourth straight match.
Sophomore Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) started at the No. 6 spot against Elsass. The sophomore won the first set, 6-2, then continued his momentum in the following set, winning 6-3. Dolidze picked up his sixth win of the spring.
At the top singles spot, Stakhovsky, ranked 123rd in the ITA Poll, met the Huskers' Boyer. The junior won the opening set, 6-3. Boyer won a tight second set, 7-5. In the deciding set, Boyer won 6-1. Stakhovsky dropped to 10-12 in dual matches.
Fennell took on Nebraska's Erhart at No. 2 singles. Fennell fell 6-1, 6-4 to remain at nine wins this spring.
Matching up at the third singles position were Barry and the Huskers' Herrmann. The junior fell 6-2 in his first set, but bounced back to take the second set, 6-2. In the final set, it was leading 2-1 when the match was stopped.
"Great win on the road," said Tobin. "Nebraska pulled it around after we took doubles, but we quickly got the points we needed at the bottom three to secure the win. Our doubles were good and I am sure we are going to continue the momentum against Iowa on Sunday."
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Doubles:
1. Fennell/Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Boyer/Zitsch(Neb), 8-5.
2. Barry/Reilly(PSU) vs. Elsass/Erhart(NEB), 7-7, unfinished.
3. Laaribi/Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Herrmann/Shin(Neb), 8-4.
Order of Finish: 1,3
Singles:
1. Dusty Boyer(Neb) def. #123 Leo Stakhovsky(PSU), 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
2. Linus Erhart(Neb) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-1, 6-4.
3. Matt Barry(PSU) vs. Marc Herrmann(NEB), 2-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished.
4. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Andrew Dzulynsky(NEB), 6-4, 6-2.
5. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Bradford Zitsch(NEB), 6-2, 2-6, 6-0.
6. Nika Dolidze(PSU) def. Scott Elsass(NEB), 6-2, 6-3.
Order of Finish: 2,4,6,1,5