March 19, 2017 - UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; The Penn State men's tennis team took down Michigan State University today in a Big Ten conference match in East Lansing, Mich. The Nittany Lions eased past the Spartans, finishing the match with a 6-1 result.
The Lions secured the doubles point this afternoon with wins from the doubles teams on courts two and three. Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) and David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) defeated Doug Francken and Colin Harvey 6-1 and Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) and Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) took down Brett Forman and Alexander Kin 7-5.
The Lions were successful in winning five of six singles matches this afternoon. In the No. 1 position, Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) defeated Brett Forman 6-4, 7-6. At No. 2, Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) won 7-5, 6-4 over Jasper Koenen. Aws Laaribi took down Ivan Rakic at the No. 4 position in a three set match that finished 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-5). At No. 5, Marc Collado (Barcelona, Spain) was victorious over Alexander Kim 6-4, 6-3. At No. 6, Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) defeated Colin Harvey 6-4, 6-1.
"I told the guys, 'this is when the season starts,'" said head coach Jeff Zinn following the win. "Your season is determined by how well you do in the Big Ten. We played well today against a tough opponent on their home courts. Every away venue in the Big Ten conference is a tough place to compete in. We competed well today and we just need to carry the momentum forward throughout the rest of the season."
"Any time you go on the road in the Big Ten there is going to be a period of adjustment getting use to the courts and environment," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "We got out there early and took our time warming up. Things got a little tight in doubles, but got a great clinch by Aws [Laaribi] and Nika [Dolidze]. Singles went smoothly, the guys locked down and took care of business quickly."
The Lions next contest will be a Big Ten matchup on Friday, March 24 against Michigan at 6:00 p.m. in Happy Valley. The blue and white will also host a double header on Sunday, March 26 against Penn at 12:00 p.m. and NJIT at 4:00 p.m.
Keep up with the Penn State men's tennis team at GoPSUsports.com. For continued updates throughout the year, make sure to `like' our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatemten and follow our twitter @pennstateMTEN!
Doubles Results:
1. Dube/Koenen (MSU) def. Bassetiere/Lakoseljac (PSU), 6-1
2. Antonopoulos/Kohan (PSU) def. Francken/Harvey (MSU), 6-2
3. Laaribi/Dolidze (PSU) def. Forman/Kim (MSU), 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles Results:
1. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Brett Forman (MSU), 6-4, 7-6
2. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Jasper Koenen (MSU), 7-5, 6-4
3. Michael Dube (MSU) def. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU), 6-2, 7-5
4. Aws Laaribi (PSU) def. Ivan Rakic (MSU), 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-5)
5. Marc Collado (PSU) def. Alexander Kin (MSU), 6-4, 6-3
6. Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Colin Harvey (MSU), 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3, 2, 1, 4