March 13, 2016
TAMPA, Fla. ââ'¬" The No. 23 Nittany Lions (12-3, 0-1) took down No. 75 Florida Gulf Coast University (9-5) 4-1 Sunday to close out the USF Invite. The Lions went 2-1 on the weekend in Tampa against ranked opponents.
We ended the weekend on a successful note," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "We went home after the match against USF and worked on some things that helped us win today."
The Nittany Lions started strong in doubles, bouncing back from the trouble they saw on Saturday. The pairs of David Kohan (Sydney, Australia)/ Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) and Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.)/ Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) helped clinched the point. Both flights won at 6-2. This was Galush's first collegiate match as a Nittany Lion.
"Matt Barry and Leo bounced back from yesterday to help get the three points we needed after a dominating doubles performance," said Coach Zinn. "This was the first match for Matt Galush and he played exceptionally well."
Freshman Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) took home the first singles win. The Seahawks quickly answered with a win on court five. Penn State did not let this set them back as they clinched the match with two more wins from Stakhovsky and Barry.
"I was glad to see the men take care of business today against a tougher Florida Gulf Coast team," said assistant coach Paul Tobin. "We will continue to work on staying in the points as we look forward to playing at home this weekend."
The Nittany Lions are back at home next weekend when they host the Michigan State Spartans and the Temple Owls on March 19.
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com 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.
4 Penn State, 1 FGCU
Doubles:
1. Kohan/Lutschaunig (PSU) def. Ventura/Yaz (FGCU), 6-2.
2. Stakhovsky/Barry (PSU) vs. Alfonzo/Cerrini (FGCU), 4-4, DNF.
3. Laaribi/Galush (PSU) def. Landert/E. Alfonzo (FGCU), 6-2.
Order of Finish: 3,1
Singles:
1. Leo Stakhovsky (PSU) def. A. Alfonzo (FGCU), 6-4, 6-3.
2. Constant De La Basetiere (PSU) def. Ventura (FGCU), 6-3, 6-0.
3. Matt Barry (PSU) def. Cerrini (FGCU), 6-1, 7-5.
4. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) vs. E. Alfonzo (FGCU), 6-4, DNF
5. Landert (FGCU) def. Ben Lieb (PSU), 6-4, 6-1.
6. Marc Collado (PSU) vs. Fernandez (FGCU), 6-1, DNF
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 1, 3