April 1, 2017 - UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; The Penn State men's tennis team faced Nebraska in an on the road conference match yesterday evening in Nebraska's Dillon Tennis Center. Penn State came out of the matchup on the winning end, with a 5-3 final match result.
The Lions secured the doubles point with wins on all three courts. At No. 3, Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) and Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) scored the first doubles match for Penn State against Toby Boyer and Jon Meyer in a 6-3 win. At No. 2, Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) and David Kohan (Sydney Australia) clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 defeat of David Smardzija and Micah Klousia.
Penn State was able to win four of the six singles matches to bring home the win. Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) took down Chris Dean 6-1, 6-2. Christos Antonopoulos defeated Tomislav Antoljak 6-4, 6-2. Zach Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) was successful against David Samardzija, beating him in a 6-3, 6-2 result. Marc Collado (Barcelona, Spain) also won for the blue and white today in a 6-4, 7-5 match against Micah Klousia.
"I am always pleased when you get a win on the road in the Big Ten," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "There is always a home court advantage but we were able to adjust to the surroundings and play good tennis. Nebraska fought us very hard at the top four positions and we battled well to win at positions three and four. I was really pleased with Zach Lieb, this was the first real action in his career and he got a win. We are starting to play better and "click" as a team. We just need to gain some momentum and keep pushing our limits."
"Any time you go up against a Big Ten school you have to come prepared," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "Anything could happen, especially if you lose a doubles point. The guys were focused and closed out their matches well. Hopefully, will keep this momentum going against Iowa on Sunday."
Penn State will now head to Iowa City, Iowa for a second conference matchup this weekend against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, April 2 at 11:00 a.m. CT/12:00 p.m. EST.
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Doubles Results:
1. Dean/Bednarczyk (NEB) vs. Bassetiere/Lakoseljac (PSU), 5-4, unfinished
2. Antonopoulos/Kohan (PSU) def. Samardzija/Klousia (NEB), 6-3
3. Dolidze/Lustchaunig (PSU) def. Boyer/Meyer (NEB), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2,
Singles Results:
1. Toby Boyer (NEB) def. Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Dylan Bednarczyk (NEB) def. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
3. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def .Tomislav Antoljak (NEB), 6-4, 6-3
4. Marc Collado (PSU) def. Micah Klousia (NEB), 6-4, 7-5
5. Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Chris Dean (NEB), 6-1, 6-2
6. Zach Lieb (PSU) def. David Samardzija (NEB), 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish:5, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2