April 27, 2017 - UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; The Penn State men's tennis team advances to the second round of the 2017 Big Ten Championships after dominating Iowa. The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 7 in the Big Ten, while the Hawkeyes are at No. 10.
Penn State secured the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and 2 positions. ITA ranked No. 65 doubles team Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) and Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) triumphed on court one against Robin Haden and Jake Jacoby, winning the match 6-4. Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) and David Kohan (Sydney, Australia) dominated court two against Kareem Allaf and Josh Silverstein, winning 6-3. On court three, Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) and Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) were tied at 5-5 with Nils Hallestrand and Jonas Larsen when the doubles point was won.
Singles were dominated by the blue and white, which outscored the Hawkeyes on every court. Bassetiere defeated Allaf at No. 1 6-4, 6-1. Lakoseljac won against Silverstein at No. 2 6-3, 7-5. At No. 6, Marc Collado (Barcelona, Spain) defeated Jason Kerst 6-1, 6-1. The other three matches were played by Christos Antonopoulos at No. 3, Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) at No. 4, and Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) at No. 5. Antonopoulos was up 2-6, 6-4, Laaribi was up 4-6, 5-6, and Lieb was up 7-6, 4-1 when the match was won by Penn State.
This win will send the Nittany Lions to the second round of the Big Ten Championships, which will be tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. EST against Michigan. 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. Bassetiere/ Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Haden/Jacoby (IOWA) 6-4
2. Antonopoulos/Kohan (PSU) def. Allaf/Silverstein (IOWA) 6-3
3. Lutschaunig/Dolidze (PSU) vs. Hallestrand/Larsen (IOWA) 5-5, unfinished
Order of Finish: 2,1
Singles results:
1. C. De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Kareem Allaf (IOWA) 6-4, 6-1
2. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Josh Silverstein (IOWA) 6-3, 7-5
3. C. Antonopoulos (PSU) vs. Jonas Larsen (IOWA) 2-6, 6-4, unfinished
4. Aws Laaribi (PSU) vs. Robin Haden (IOWA) 4-6, 5-6, unfinished
5. Ben Lieb (PSU) vs. Jake Jacoby (IOWA) 7-6 (7-1), 4-1, unfinished
6. Marc Collado (PSU) def. Jason Kerst (IOWA) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 2