April 28, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 6 Nittany Lions (21-7, 6-5) defeat the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans (11-18, 1-10) in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday night. The Nittany Lions secured the First Round win with a 4-0 sweep. Penn State has not won in the First Round of the tournament since 2009.
"It is nice to get the first tournament win under our belt," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "This takes a ton of the pressure off. A lot of coaches talk about the nerves in the first round and how anything can happen. There were a ton of upsets here today and we did not want to be another one. This gives the team another chance to play Illinois. We know how they play and vice versa, so it will be a battle for the semifinals."
The Nittany Lions came out strong in doubles taking first and third flights in 6-2. Seniors Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) took the first win against the Spartans. Junior Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and freshman Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) clinched Penn State's 20th doubles point of this spring season. The Nittany Lions are now 18-2 when winning the doubles point.
Freshman Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) carried that dominate doubles momentum into his singles match at No. 6. Lieb took down Colin Harvey in two sets.
Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) followed suite taking the Spartan down in 6-3, 6-3. Hanzlik brought Penn State to a 3-0 lead over Michigan State.
Junior Laaribi was the first one to close out his second set and officially clinch the sweep. Laaribi fought Ben Shisler to a 6-2, 6-4 end. The bottom half of the singles line-up was able to secure the win for Penn State.
"This was a huge team effort," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "Our doubles came out soild and we kept that momentum going into singles. We cleaned up nicely with the three singles wins to bring us the overall win. I am extremely proud of Ben Lieb for coming back from an ankle injury to have a great match today. The team is looking forward to a rematch against Illinois tomorrow."
The Nittany Lions have never won a Big Ten Tournament. The team is 11-27 all-time in the tournament since joining the Big Ten.
"I know we will be ready for tomorrow," said Coach Zinn.
Penn State will advance to meet No. 3 Illinois Friday at the Baseline Tennis Center at 5:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
4 #35 Penn State, 0 Michigan State
Doubles:
1. Leo Stakhovsky/Matt Barry (PSU) def. Mac Roy/Jasper Koenen (MSU) 6-2.
2. David Kohan/Christian Lutschaunig (PSU) vs. Michael Dube/Colin Harvey (MSU) 4-5, DNF.
3. Aws Laaribi/Matt Galush (PSU) def. Alexander Kim/Ben Shisler (MSU), 6-2.
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Singles:
1. Leo Stakhovsky (PSU) vs. Mac Roy (MSU) 6-7, 4-3, DNF.
2. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) vs. Michael Dube (MSU) 7-6, 3-2, DNF.
3. Matt Barry (PSU) vs. Jasper Koenen (MSU) 7-5, 5-2, DNF.
4. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) def. Ivan Rakic (MSU) 6-3, 6-3.
5. Aws Laaribi (PSU) def. Ben Shisler (MSU) 6-2, 6-4.
6. Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Colin Harvey (MSU), 6-4, 6-2.
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 5