Jan. 24, 2016
HANOVER, N.H. ââ'¬" The No. 53 Nittany Lions take down No.42 Dartmouth 4-2 to go undefeated the first weekend of the spring season. First singles player, Leo Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine), took down No.18 Dovydas Sakinis to start the momentum for the Lions.
Penn State was commanding in doubles play again today. Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) and David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) came out strong taking down the Big Green 6-4. Their opponents, Sakinis and Tannenbaum, are currently ranked No.9 according to the ITA Polls.
"David and Christian played really well today," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "Their win at first doubles built great momentum for the rest of the matches. The atmosphere was great inside the Boss Tennis Center and I think our guys really fed off of that."
Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) went undefeated this weekend after securing a 6-3 win. Leo Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) and Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) were unsuccessful in their doubles playing ending 2-6.
"This was a huge win against a very well coached, ranked team," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "This win will certainly help us in the rankings. Our doubles came out strong and secured the point. Each singles match was tight. It was good to see our boys come out on top."
Stakhovsky took down Dartmouth's Sakinis in a physical 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 match. Sakinis is currently ranked No.18 in the country and No.1 in the Northeastern Region. The remaining singles players followed suite with big wins. "Leo played some great sets this weekend. He is working really hard and it is showing," said Coach Zinn. "We are looking for big things out of him this season as our leader."
Freshman and newcomer to the team De La Bassetiere was strong at third singles going undefeated for his first weekend in NCAA play. Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) finished strong in a three-set win at sixth singles. "I was please with our entire performance today. The energy around our team was amazing," said Lieb. "I just stayed focused and played my game and ended up doing well"
"I was really pleased with the play of our freshman today (Constant and Lieb)," said Coach Zinn. "The freshman have come in and have really had a positive impact on the team."
Tomas Hanzlik's (Prague, Czech Republic) match went unfinished once Penn State clinched the win. Laaribi and Barry were not as successful in their singles play today dropping their matches 2-6, 1-6 and 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, respectively.
The Lions are out next when they start their home campaign next weekend. Jeff Zinn's team takes on Old Dominion and University of Maryland-BC in a double-header on January 31st.
Penn State 4, Dartmouth 2
Singles:
Leo Stakhovsky (PSU) def. Doyvdas Sakinis (DU), 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
Ciro Riccardi (DU) def. Aws Laaribi (PSU), 6-2, 1-6
Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Brendan Tannenbaum (DU), 7-6, 6-4
Max Fliegner (DU) def. Matt Barry (PSU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) vs. George Wall (DU), 6-3, 4-6, 4-4, unfinished
Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Max Schmidt (DU), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6
Doubles:
David Kohan/Christian Lutschaunig (PSU) def. Sakinis/Tannenbaum (DU), 6-4
Glasnovic/Schmidt (DU) def. Leo Stakhovsky/Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU), 2-6
Matt Barry/Aws Laaribi (PSU) def. Wall/Fliegner, 6-3