May 14, 2016
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The No. 37 Penn State Nittany Lions (22-8) upset the No. 25 Columbia University Lions (17-6) in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Charlottesville on Saturday. The match ended with a thrilling 4-3 score.
"That was a really good college tennis match," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "Our seniors came through today in Matt Barry and Leo Stakhovsky. Marc Collado played amazing at No. 6 and we are so proud at how far he has come this season. He fought hard out there and never gave up; that is what our coaching staff preaches everyday."
The Nittany Lions took the doubles point for the 21st time this spring season with wins at two and three. Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) and Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) won the first match 6-3, leaving the deciding flight to Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) and Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.). Galush and Laaribi were up 5-2 before Columbia took one set to make it 5-3. After that the Lions were able to close it out and secure the early point. Penn State is now 19-2 when winning the doubles point.
"Matt Galush and Aws Laaribi played strong in doubles to help bring us an early lead," said Coach Zinn.
Barry brought home the first singles point against his Long Beach High School teammate, Eric Rubin. The senior closed out the match 6-4, 6-1 to bring Penn State the early lead.
The Columbia Lions pushed back hard to win the next two singles points. Pham and Vermeer pulled wins at No. 2 and 4, respectively. The match was left tied at 2-2.
Senior Stakhovsky fought hard against Columbia's Hadavi to win 7-5, 7-5 at first singles. Stakhovsky took the first set easy but had to come back from a deficit in the second set to win it.
Columbia took Court 5, tying the match at 3-3. The deciding point was left up to Marc Collado (Barcelona, Spain) on Court 6. The junior took home the first set and gave the second set to Columbia's Wang. Collado was up 4-1 in the third set when the match was left on his shoulders. He was able to close out the set 6-1 to bring home the 4-3 win.
"Thank you to everyone who came out today to cheer us on," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "We are looking forward to a good matchup tomorrow against the winner of Virginia/Monmouth. A chance to go to the Sweet Sixteen is on the line and we are excited at the chance to play for it."
This is Penn State's seventh visit to the NCAA Tournament in program history. The last two times in the tournament (2014 & 2008) the Lions played in Charlottesville and advanced into the Second Round. The Nittany Lions will face the winner of No. 1 Virginia/Monmouth Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
4 Penn State, 3 Columbia
Doubles:
1. Mike Vermeer/Michal Rolski (CU) def. David Kohan/Christian Lutschaunig (PSU), 6-1.
2. Leo Stakhovsky/Matt Barry (PSU) def. Richard Pham/Christopher Grant (CU), 6-3.
3. Aws Laaribi/Matt Galush (PSU) def. Shawn Hadavi/Eric Rubin (CU), 6-3.
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles:
1. Leo Stakhovsky (PSU) def. Shawn Hadavi (CU) 7-5, 7-5.
2. Richard Pham (CU) def. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) 6-2, 6-4.
3. Matt Barry (PSU) def. Eric Rubin (CU)6-4, 6-1.
4. Mike Vermeer (CU) def. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) 6-2, 6-4.
5. Miguel Alda (CU) def. Aws Laaribi (PSU) 7-6(0), 6-2.
6. Marc Collado (PSU) def. Timothy Wang (CU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 4, 1, 5, 6