April 3, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 49 Penn State men's tennis team shutout Wisconsin 7-0 on Friday at the Indoor Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions earned wins at No. 1 and 3 doubles to take the point before winning all six singles matches, including two straight-set victories. The blue and white improved to 10-12 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten. The Badgers dropped to 6-13 and 2-4 in conference play.
On Sunday, Penn State, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, hosts No. 29 Minnesota (14-6, 5-1) at Noon and NJIT(8-6) at 5 p.m. The Gophers fell 4-3 at No. 11 Ohio State on Friday.
It was Penn State's third shutout win this spring and their first against a Big Ten opponent since April 18, 2014 against Nebraska.
"Tennis is about confidence and we played with confidence today," said Zinn. "Hopefully we can build on that and play a great Minnesota team on Sunday. It's going to be outside, so hopefully we can play well outside."
The Nittany Lions captured the doubles point for the ninth time this season, earning wins at No. 1 and No. 3.
Sophomores Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) and Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) combined at the top doubles spot against Jose Carranza and Josef Dodridge, ranked 39th in the ITA Doubles Poll. After being tied 4-4, the Badger duo got the next three games, taking a 7-4 advantage. However, Fennell and Laaribi rallied and earned back-to-back breaks to force a tiebreaker at 7-7. The Penn State pair won the tiebreaker, 7-4, to clinch the set and the doubles point. It was the first time this spring that they paired up.
Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) took on the Badgers' Jakhongir Jalalov and Alexander Kokorev at No. 3. The Nittany Lion duo jumped out to a 4-1 lead on their way to an 8-3 victory. The Nittany Lion duo improved to 2-0 this spring.
At the second doubles position, sophomore Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) and junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) matched up against Lamar Remy and John Zordani. The pairs traded the first 11 games, before the Badgers got a break with the score 6-5. Remy and Zordani closed out the set to win 8-5. It was also the first time that Lutschaunig and Stakhovsky teamed up in a dual match.
Fennell met the Badger's Dodridge at the top singles spot. Leading 5-4 in the opening set, Fennell got a break to clinch the frame. In the following set, the sophomore took a 3-0 advantage on his way to a 6-3 set win. He picked up his ninth win of the season and third in Big Ten play.
"Alex played really well," said Zinn. "That Wisconsin kid is really good, he's played well, so that's a good win for Alex. That gives him some Big Ten consideration and he deserves it, he's been playing well. It's tough for a sophomore to play No. 1."
The junior, Stakhovsky, faced Wisconsin's Jalalov at No. 2. In a back-and-forth first set, Stakhovsky fell 7-5. However, he bounced back in the second set to win 6-3. In the deciding set, the Stakhovsky jumped out to a 4-2 lead, closing out the set, 6-3. He improved to 8-10 this spring.
At the third singles position, Barry took on Remy. In a tight first set, Barry earned a 7-5 victory. Leading 3-2 in the second set, Barry broke it open to win 6-2. He is now 11-7 this spring and has 15 wins overall.
At the fourth spot, senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) matched up against the Badgers' Tomas Pitra. The Nittany Lion took an early 4-2 advantage on his way to a 6-3 set win. Pitra responded by winning a tight second set, 7-5. However, Hanzlik bounced back in the third set to win 6-4. The senior improved to 10-7 in dual matches.
Laaribi met Wisconsin's Zordani at the fifth singles position. The sophomore dropped the first set, 6-4, but responded by dominating the second set, 6-1, to force a super tiebreaker third set. In the final set, Laaribi shook off a 6-4 deficit to win the set, 10-7. Laaribi moved to 8-6 this spring.
Junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) faced Carranza at the sixth spot. Trkulja jumped out to a 4-2 lead on his way to a 6-2 first set win. In the next set, Trkulja fell 6-3. In a super tiebreaker third set, the two players fought through a tight frame. With the score 9-9, Trkulja claimed the next two games to clinch the tiebreaker and the match. He picked up his sixth win this spring.
"Nice to win back at home against a solid Wisconsin team," said Tobin. "I think we played very well and pulled out a tight doubles point after being down. The guys certainly put things together in singles and took out all spots. Looking ahead to a tough Minnesota team on Sunday, we're going to have to bring our A game."
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Doubles:
1. Fennell/Laaribi(PSU) def. #39 Carranza/Dodridge(Wisc), 8-7(4).
2. Remy/Zordani(Wisc) def. Lutschaunig/Stakhovsky(PSU), 8-5.
3. Barry/Reilly(PSU) def. Jalalov/Kokorev(Wisc), 8-3.
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
Singles:
1. Alex Fennell(PSU) def. Josef Dodridge(Wisc), 6-4, 6-3.
2. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) def. Jakhongir Jalalov(Wisc), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
3. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Lamar Remy(Wisc), 7-5, 6-2.
4. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Tomas Pitra(Wisc), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
5. Aws Laaribi(PSU) def. John Zordani(Wisc), 4-6, 6-1, (10-7).
6. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Jose Carranza(Wisc), 6-2, 3-6, (11-9).
Order of Finish: 1,3,2,4,5,6