UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; The Penn State men's tennis team travelled to Lake Nona, Fla. this week to participate in a College MatchDay event at the USTA National Campus.
In the latest edition of College MatchDay, it described the University of Central Florida coming back from the dead to defeat Penn State 4-2. The Lions had the doubles point and the first five singles sets, but UCF came back from breakdowns on multiple courts to win a significant number of three setters.
The Nittany Lion's Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) won in straight sets at No. 3 while the Knight's Korey Lovett won in straight sets at No. 1. Central Florida senior Harrison Richmond trailed Penn State's Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) 5-7, 3-4* at No. 2 but Richmond broke on the no-ad point for 4-4, hold on the no-ad point for 5-4, and then break from 15/40 to take the set 6-4. Richmond jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third but Lakoseljac broke back from 30/40 to make it 3-2. Richmond broke back on the no-ad point for 4-2 and then pulled away to win it 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
UCF junior Danny Kerznerman put the Knights ahead 3-2 with a come from behind win at No. 4. Kerznerman trailed Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) 3-6, *2-4 before he rattled off four straight games to take the set 6-4. Laaribi went up a break at 2-1 in the third but Kerznerman broke, held, and broke to go up 4-2. Laaribi broke back for 3-4 but Kerznerman broke as well and then served it out from 40/30 to win it 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Kalman Boyd, a Central Florida sophomore, would get the clincher at No. 6 with, you guessed it, a come from behind win over Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil). After Nemeth took the opening set 6-3, Boyd managed to take the second 7-6(0). Nemeth went up a break at 3-1 in the third but Boyd broke on the no-ad point, held, broke, and held again to go up 5-3. After a Nemeth hold, Boyd would serve it out from 40/15 to clinch the 4-2 win.
The men's tennis team will follow up this match with the South Florida Tournament beginning on Friday, March 10 in Tampa, Fla. The first match of the tournament will be against Troy at 11:00 am.
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