March 19, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The No. 27 Nittany Lions (13-3, 1-1) defeated the Michigan State Spartans (10-9, 0-2) 7-0 Saturday to continue their undefeated streak at home. This was the first Big Ten win for the Lions. Their day will continue with a match against Temple in the afternoon.
"It is always good to get your first Big Ten win," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "Michigan State played extremely well. We came out on fire in doubles and never let up. "
All three doubles flights started strong and were never trailing the Spartans. Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) and Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) were first to win their match at 6-2. First doubles pair of David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) clinched the match at 6-3 against Michigan State's Alexander Kim and Mac Roy.
"We got a slow start in singles, which we will continue to work on," said Coach Zinn. "I think that the turning point for us was when Leo spilt his sets at first singles. Matt Barry had a great match, winning two tough tiebreaks."
Senior and co-captain Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) brought the energy from doubles into singles. Hanzlik came out hot winning his first set 6-3 and followed up with a 6-1 second set win.
Stakhovsky followed suit at first singles, winning in three sets. The senior had to fight back after losing the first set, 4-6. Stakhovsky's serves aided him in the second bringing momentum in the third.
Barry, senior and co-captain, had a fight in his third singles flight today. Jasper Koenen from MSU gave him a run for his money, forcing a tiebreak in each set. Barry won both 7-6 (86). Barry's win clinched the match for Penn State at 4-0.
Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) continued the singles wins with a tough tiebreak in set one followed by an easier 6-4 win in the second set. Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) sealed the swept with a win in his sixth singles flight. Lieb had an easy 6-1, 6-2 win over Michigan State's Ivan Rakic.
"The guys gave an amazing effort today," said assistant coach Paul Tobin. "After winning the doubles point, we took care of business in singles on every court. We worked on winning the key points over spring break and I think that showed today."
The Nittany Lions will take on the Temple Owls later today in the Sarni Tennis Center. The match is set to start at 5 p.m.
7 Penn State, 0 Michigan State
Doubles:
1. Kohan/Lutschaunig (PSU) def. Roy/Kim (MSU), 6-3
2. Stakhovsky/Barry (PSU) def. Harvey/Dube (MSU), 6-2.
3. De La Bassetiere/Galush (PSU) vs. Koenen/Shisler (MSU), 5-4, DNF.
Order of Finish: 2, 1
Singles:
1. Leo Stakhovsky (PSU) def. Mac Roy (MSU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
2. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Michael Dube (MSU), 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
3. Matt Barry (PSU) def. Jasper Koenen (MSU), 7-6 (86), 7-6 (86).
4. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) def. Billy Shisler (MSU), 6-3, 6-1.
5. Aws Laaribi (PSU) def. Alexander Kim (MSU), 7-6 (72), 6-4.
6. Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Ivan Rakic (MSU), 6-1, 6-2.
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 2, 5, 6