April 28, 2017 - UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; The Penn State men's tennis team faced nationally ranked No. 16 Michigan this afternoon in West Lafayette, Ind. in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Championship. The Nittany Lions fell to the Wolverines in a 4-0 match.
The match began outside at the Schwartz Tennis Center but was moved indoors to the Basham Courts during doubles play. The maize and blue took the doubles point today with wins on courts one and two. During singles, Michigan took the first three wins and left three matches unfinished.
"It was a terrific college match and I am very proud of the boys," commented head coach Jeff Zinn. "They left it all on the court and I couldn't be more proud of how they played and represented Penn State. The energy was there from the first point of the match, we had our chances but give Michigan all the credit. They withstood our challenges and ultimately came away with the win. We have come a long way this semester and it was gratifying as a coach to see the team grow and finish on a high note."
"We started the match outside and had to move inside due to rain," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "We weren't too happy about that since the guys were playing well outside and we knew Michigan couldn't get terribly aggressive on us. It was a good developing year for the very young team; I am positive 2018 is going to be the year things click. I am happy to see our seniors enjoy their last match! Coach and I are proud of them, win or lose."
Today's match against Michigan will conclude the Nittany Lions run in the Big Ten Championship this year. They finish the season 16-12 overall, with a 5-6 record in the conference.
Doubles Results:
1. Malik/ Johnston (MICH) def. Bassetiere/ Lakoseljac (PSU) 6-1
2. Knight/Hua (MICH) def. Antonopoulos/Kohan (PSU) 7-5
3. Schalet/Wong (MICH) vs. Lutschaunig/Dolidze (PSU) 4-4, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Singles results:
1. Jathan Malik (MICH) vs. C. De La Bassetiere (PSU) 7-6 (13-11), 1-1, unfinished
2. Alex Knight (MICH) def. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Myles Schalet (MICH) vs. C. Antonopoulos (PSU) 2-6, 5-6, unfinished
4. Kevin Wong (MICH) vs. Aws Laaribi (PSU) 5-7, 2-1, unfinished
5. Runhao Hua (MICH) def. Ben Lieb (PSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Carter Lin (MICH) def. Marc Collado (PSU) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 5