Oct. 16, 2015
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Penn State men's tennis team began play at the ITA Regional Championships on Friday. The Nittany Lions enjoyed a successful day in the Doubles Main Draw as three pairs advanced to the Round of 32. Penn State also had seven singles players advance to the Round of 64 and will continue competing on Saturday.
Doubles play kicked off the weekend for the Nittany Lions. Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) started off with a close match of 8-7(6) over George Washington's Fletcher and Hadligeorgiou. Marc Collado (Barcelona, Spain) and Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) started off strong with an easy 8-3 win against Old Dominion's Lanthiez and Pereiman. Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) and Zach Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) also racked up their first doubles win of the weekend against Villanova's Phelps and Elmore, defeating them 8-4.
"It was a good first day. We had some incredible wins from Collado, Ben Lieb, Hanzlik, and Kohan in the singles matches. There were some disappointing loses but a good effort from Galush who fell to an elbow injury in the third set," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "There were solid results in doubles. We are still working on our doubles teams this fall and will continue to define them for the spring."
The 128-Round doubles bracket brought down some Penn State players Friday. Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) and David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) lost of close 8-6 match against Mount St. Mary's Blake/DeSomocurcio duo. Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) also went down 8-6 but to VCU's Ishizaka/Lima pair.
Singles play started off strong for the Nittany Lions. Seven players will advance to the Round of 64 on Saturday. Laaribi and Barry started off with a bye and will play their first matches Saturday.
Lutschaunig defeated Andres Urrea from St. Joe's in a 7-6(4), 6-3 dual. Kohan went on to win for the Nittany Lions with a close 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 match against Virginia Tech's George Cartledge. Freshman B.Lieb came out strong with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Liberty's Maxim Borcuti. As the Penn State men's tennis team stayed strong on singles, Collado defeated George Mason's Joe Hill 6-3, 6-4. Hanzlik wrapped up the singles wins with a 6-4, 6-1 match over William & Mary's Addison Appleby.
Freshman Z.Lieb fell to Norfolk State's Antonio Pejic in a 6-3, 6-4 match. Galush lost in a three set 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 fight against George Washington's Christos Hadjigeorgiou. Junior Dolidze fell to Egon Samaai from Liberty in a 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 match.
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com throughout the weekend for more coverage of the Penn State men's tennis team. Updates are also available on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.
ITA Regionals
Doubles (Round of 128 & 64):
Laaribi/B.Lieb(PSU) def. Fletcher/Hadjigeorgiou(GW), 8-7(6).
Collado/Dolidze(PSU) def. Lanthiez/Perelman(ODU), 8-3.
Blake/DeSomocurcio(MSM) def. Lutschaunig/Kohan(PSU), 8-6.
Hanzlik/Z.Lieb(PSU) def. Phelps/Elmore(Villanova), 8-4.
Ishizaka/Lima(VCU) def. Barry/Galush(PSU), 8-6.
Singles (Round of 128):
Antonio Pejic(Norfolk St.) def. Zach Lieb(PSU), 6-3, 6-4.
Christian Lutschaunig(PSU) def. Andres Urrea(St. Joes), 7-6(4), 6-3.
David Kohan(PSU) def. George Cartledge(VT), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
Christos Hadjigeorgiou(GW) def. Matt Galush(PSU), 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Ben Lieb(PSU) def. Maxim Borcuti(Liberty), 6-4, 6-3.
Egon Samaai(Liberty) def. Nika Dolidze(PSU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.
Marc Collado(PSU) def. Joe Hill(George Mason), 6-3, 6-4.
Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Addison Appleby(W&M), 6-4, 6-1.