April 29, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. ââ'¬" The No. 6 Nittany Lions (21-8, 6-5) fell 4-2 to the No. 3 University of Illinois Fighting Illini (18-9, 8-3) in the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday night. This ends Penn State's run in the Big Ten Tournament but does not end the season.
"We had our chances but unlike last week the big points did not go our way," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "I want to congratulate Illinois; they played like they had a chip on their shoulder from last week. I want to congratulate the team on a terrific year so far. We have played every match, every point like it is our last and I think that we are back to where we should be. I am proud of the guys for believing in each other. Our team chemistry has helped us tremendously this year."
The Fighting Illini took the first doubles win at No. 1. Junior Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and freshman Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) fought back taking the No. 3 flight 6-3. The point was left up to the new pair of Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) and Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.). After being tied at 5-5, the duo headed into a tiebreak. Illinois proved resilient winning it 7-1.
The Nittany Lions are now 4-5 when losing the doubles point this spring.
Illinois came out big in singles play taking the first two wins to bring their lead to 3-0. Laaribi showed up at fifth singles to bring Penn State on the board. The junior defeated Toshiki Matsuya 6-1, 6-1.
Marc Collado (Barcelona, Spain) brought Penn State within a point with a win at sixth singles. Collado defeated the Fighting Illini in two sets.
Illinois clinched the match with a win at first singles taking down senior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) in a three-set battle. The Lions fell 4-2 to the Fighting Illini.
This was a rematch of April 22 when then No. 39 Penn State upset No.15 Illinois 4-3 at home.
"This was a tough loss," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "We had the opportunity to take the doubles point with a win on court two. The guys competed well in singles but Illinois became too strong for the top half of the singles lineup. Marc Collado and Aws Laaribi did a great job getting us two points in their two-set matches. We will be ready for the NCAA Tournament coming up in two weeks."
The Nittany Lions have never won a Big Ten Tournament. The team is 11-28 all-time in the Big Ten Men's Tennis Tournament. This marks the teams first time entering the quarterfinals since 2009.
"We aren't even close to done playing tennis this year," said Coach Zinn. "I still see so much fight in these boys. They are looking forward to jumping right into the NCAA Tournament. "
The Nittany Lions will head to the First Rounds of the NCAA Tournament May 13. Penn State will find out their seeding, their opponent and where they will play during the NCAA Selection Show on May 3 at 5:30 p.m.
2 #35 Penn State, 4 #17 Illinois
Doubles:
1. #71 Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Leo Stakhovsky/Matt Barry (PSU) 6-2.
2. Jared Hiltzik/Pengxuan Jiang (ILL) def. Matt Galush/Christian Lutschaunig (PSU) 7-6(1).
3. Aws Laaribi/Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Julian Childers/Brian Page (ILL) 6-3.
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles:
1. #4 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. Leo Stakhovsky (PSU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
2. #17 Jared Hiltzik (ILL) def. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) 7-6(3), 6-0.
3. #71 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Matt Barry (PSU) 6-2, 6-4.
4. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) vs. Julian Childers (ILL) 6-3, 2-6, 1-2, DNF.
5. Aws Laaribi (PSU) def. Toshiki Matsuya (ILL) 6-1, 6-1.
6. Marc Collado (PSU) def. Alex Jesse (ILL) 6-2, 6-3.
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 5, 6, 1