April 23, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's tennis junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) was named Second Team All-Big Ten, as the honors were released Thursday by the conference. Stakhovsky earned all-conference accolades for the second straight season after being named First Team All-Big Ten in 2014. Junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) was also selected as a Sportmanship Award recipient by the Big Ten.
Stakhovsky has 11 singles wins overall this year, including 10 this spring. The junior has split between playing No. 1 and No. 2 for Penn State. Three of Stakhovsky's wins have come against ranked opponents. He has defeated South Florida's #19 Roberto Cid, Old Dominion's #42 Carlos Lopez Villa and Illinois' #64 Farris Gosea. Stakhovsky has been ranked in four ITA Singles Polls, reaching as high as 81st in the rankings.
In Big Ten play, Stakhovsky has four wins, helping Penn State in wins over Purdue and Wisconsin.
In doubles, the Kiev, Ukraine native has 11 wins in dual matches and 15 victories overall. Stakhovsky has paired up with four different partners this spring, playing his last two matches, including a win, with sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa). Stakhovsky combined with sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) for seven doubles wins, including a victory over Cal's Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton, then-ranked 30th in the ITA Poll.
Trkulja is 11-10 this spring, splitting time at the bottom four singles spots. He has 17 wins overall and is currently riding a five-match win streak. The junior has five wins in Big Ten play. Trkulja also has 11 doubles wins this year, including five in dual matches.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, meet Michigan on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
"Congratulations to Leo on his selection," said Tobin. "He has done a great job trying to balance managing his studies while competing at a high position in the lineup. That is certainly not easy at this level."
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