April 1, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The No. 33 Nittany Lions (15-4, 2-2) edged out the Nebraska Huskers (11-6, 2-2) in a tight 4-3 victory. Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) had the winning flight at second doubles, when the score was left 3-3. After dropping the doubles point, Penn State fought hard in the windy conditions to secure the tight win.
"On a blistery Friday afternoon, I thought the wind was a huge neutralizer," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "I do not want to take anything away from Nebraska but I thought as a team we did not play well in doubles. I was extremely pleased with Matt Barry and Aws Laaribi, finishing their matches in straight sets."
Doubles took a dramatic turn as Penn State and Nebraska spilt the first and second courts, leaving the doubles point to be deciding on the third. David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) dropped first doubles 6-4 to the Boyer twins from Lincoln. Penn State fought back taking the second court. Seniors Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) and Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) conquered Herrmann and Elsass to tie it up.
Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) and Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) held the weight of the doubles point on their shoulders. The pair battled back from 3-5 to tie it at 5-5. The Lions faulted there, losing the match to the Huskers 7-5. Nebraska took the first point of the day with their two doubles wins.
No. 125 Barry picked up the first singles win in the third singles flight. The senior tied it up with a quick 6-3, 6-1 win over the Huskers. No. 96 Stakhovsky dropped his fifth first singles match of the season to bring Nebraska the lead once again. Freshman Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) tied it up with his 7-5, 6-1 win in his sixth singles flight. The match was tied 2-2 with three men still rallying.
Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) brought Penn State their first lead of the day with his win at fifth singles. The junior defeated Tomislav Antoljak in a consistent 6-4, 6-4 match. The Lions were one match away from securing the win.
Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) dropped his flight 5-7, 2-6 to bring the match to a close 3-3 score. Everything was left to De La Bassetiere and Nebraksa's Marc Herrmann.
"It was unusual to not have one match go into three sets so I am glad that we could come out with four two-set victories," said Coach Zinn. "Sunday, we will have to come out with a little more energy. Constant has to be one of the, if not the best, freshman in the Big Ten. We place him under severe circumstances and he always shows up."
De La Bassetiere pulled through for the Nittany Lions with a second-set tiebreak win. Constant won 10-8 to edge out the Huskers in an overall close match.
"This was a tight win in windy conditions," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "The match came down to who could handle the wind and stay calm. I thought that we could have played better in doubles and not let it come down to the third pair. I give credit to Nebraska, they did a great job and fought hard the entire time."
The Lions are back in action against Iowa and Monmouth on Sunday at the Sarni Tennis Center.
4 Penn State, 3 Nebraska
Doubles:
1. D. Boyer/T. Boyer (UN) def. David Kohan/Christian Lutschaunig (PSU), 6-4.
2. Leo Stakhovsky/Matt Barry (PSU) def. Herrmann/Elsass (UN), 6-4.
3. Dzulynsky/Zitsch (UN) def. Constant De La Bassetiere/Matt Galush (PSU), 7-5.
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles:
1. Dusty Boyer (UN) def. Leo Stakhovsky (PSU), 7-5, 6-3.
2. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Marc Herrmann (UN), 6-4, 7-6(10-8).
3. Matt Barry (PSU) def. Toby Boyer (UN), 6-3, 6-1.
4. Andrew Dzulynsky (UN) def. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU), 7-5, 6-2.
5. Aws Laaribi (PSU) def. Tomislav Antoljak (UN), 6-4, 6-4.
6. Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Bradford Zitsch (UN), 7-5, 6-1.
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 6, 5, 4, 2