February 2, 2017 - UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; The Penn State men's tennis team will host its first matches of the spring 2017 season in the Indoor Tennis Facility in Happy Valley. Play will begin on Saturday, February 4 at 1:00 p.m. against Cleveland State, followed by the second match of the day against Lehigh at 4:00 p.m. On Sunday, February 5, the Lions will face off against Cornell and St. Bonaventure, at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. respectively.
The first team that the Lions will face this weekend, Cleveland State, currently holds a 1-1 record for the season. Lehigh University will come into Happy Valley at 0-2. Cornell is currently undefeated this spring at 3-0 and also showcases senior team member Cris Vrabel, who is ranked at No. 62 on the ITA Singles Poll so far this season. The last to play the Lions this weekend, the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, hold a 3-1 record coming in to February.
"After having a very successful home season last year we need to start this season on that same winning message," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "We have some very tough teams coming into Happy Valley this weekend and it will be nice to see how we have improved from last weekend's matches. We have worked hard this week and now we have to show that determination in our matches."
"It's obvious that we want to compete well and win all our venues," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "I feel confident that we're going to do well this weekend, which will give us the confidence we need heading into next weekend's matches, starting with VCU on February 10th."
Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) performed well for the blue and white last weekend during the spring season kickoff in Chapel Hill, N.C. He is currently 1-0 at the No. 6 singles spot for the Lions. Freshman Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) is 1-1 at the No. 2 singles position for the Lions after last weekend.
Notes about this weekends matchups:
Be sure to check back to GoPSUsports.com and our social media pages throughout the weekend for updates from these first home matches!
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