Feb. 3, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA.-- The Penn State men's tennis team took on Buffalo and Temple in back-to-back matches. The team defeated Buffalo 7-0 and Temple 7-0.
In doubles against Buffalo, the team went 2-1. Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) and Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario) had a hard fought battle against Vidit Vaghela and Petr Vodak and came away with the win, 7-6. Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) and Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) fell in a tightly contested match against Ethan Nittolo and Villhelm Fridell, 7-6. Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) and Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil) picked up the other doubles win against Hao Sheng Koay and Matthew Johnson, 6-0.
The Nittany Lions swept singles, going 6-0. On court one, De La Bassetiere clinched the match defeating Koay, 7-5, 5-7, 6-1. Lakoseljac easily handled Nittolo, winning 7-5, 6-4. Antonopoulos took down Vodak 7-5, 7-6. Sentay battled back from being down early to beat Vaghela 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. Nemeth won against Johnson 6-3, 7-6. Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) easily handled Tsakiri 6-1, 6-2.
Following an hour break to give Temple time to warm up, the Nittany Lions took the court once again. Using the same lineup as they did against Buffalo, the team continued on with similar success.
Against Temple, the team had great success in doubles, going 2-0 to claim the point. De La Bassetiere and Lakoseljac had their match go unfinished against Alberto Caceres Casas and Thomas Sevel 2-3. Antonopoulos and Sentay dominated Eric Biscoveanu and Michael Haelen 6-2. Galush and Nemeth won against Juan Araoz and Mark Wallner 6-2.
Singles also went the Lions way with the team going 6-0. De La Bassetiere kicked things off on court one with a solid win over Sevel. Lakoseljac dispatched Araoz for an easy 6-2, 6-2 win. Antonopoulos was locked in a battle with Caceres Casas and ultimately won 2-6, 6-4, 10-7. Sentay handled Uladzimir Dorash in his 6-3, 6-3 win. Nemeth defeat Biscoveanu 6-2, 6-4. Lieb finished things off with a win against Wallner 6-3, 6-7, 10-3.
"We accomplished what we wanted today," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "We wanted two absolute battles, with two very good teams. We had a lot of close matches against Buffalo. I was proud of the players that we were able to win those close matches. It gave us a little bit of confidence headed into the afternoon match. We needed the confidence of some wins, so it did everything that we hoped it would do today. We did it against two very good teams, two very well coached teams and they battled us. Everybody is going to come a battle Penn State, but we came out on top."
The Nittany Lions are now 3-2 on the season after two solid wins today. The team will next take on Memphis in Ithaca, N.Y. on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2:00 p.m.
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Doubles (Buffalo):
- Constant De La Basse/Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Vidit Vaghela/Petr Vodak (BUF) 7-6
- Ethan Nittolo/Villhelm Fridell (BUF) def. Christos Antonopoulo/Alp Sentay (PSU) 7-6
- Matt Galush/Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Hao Sheng Koay/Matthew Johnson (BUF) 6-0
Singles (Buffalo):
- Constant De La Basse (PSU) def. Hao Sheng Koay (BUF) 7-5, 5-7, 6-1
- Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Ethan Nittolo (BUF) 7-5, 6-4
- Christos Antonopoulo (PSU) def. Petr Vodak (BUF) 7-5, 7-6
- Alp Sentay (PSU) def. Vidit Vaghela (BUF) 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
- Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Matthew Johnson (BUF) 6-3, 7-6
- Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Konstantinos Tsakiri (BUF) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles (Temple):
- Constant De La Basse/Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) vs. Alberto Caceres Casa/Thomas Sevel (TEM) 2-3, unfinished
- Christos Antonopoulo/Alp Sentay (PSU) def. Eric Biscoveanu/Michael Haelen (TEM) 6-2
- Matt Galush/Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Juan Araoz/Mark Wallner (TEM) 6-2
Singles (Temple):
- Constant De La Basse (PSU) def. Thomas Sevel (TEM) 6-2, 6-2
- Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Juan Araoz (TEM) 6-2, 6-2
- Christos Antonopoulo (PSU) def. Alberto Caceres Casa (TEM) 2-6, 6-4, 10-7
- Alp Sentay (PSU) def. Uladzimir Dorash (TEM) 6-4, 6-2
- Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Eric Biscoveanu (TEM) 6-2, 6-4
- Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Mark Wallner (TEM) 6-3, 6-7, 10-3