March 7, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's tennis took on UCF at the USTA Tennis Center in Orlando, Fla. today. The Lions fought hard throughout the evening and came out victorious defeating the Knights, 4-3.
In doubles, the team came out with two wins. Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) and Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) dominated the UCF pair of Alan Rubio and Mikhail Sokolovskiy 6-1. Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) and Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil) outmatched Danny Kerznerman and Gabriel Decamps, 6-3. Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) and Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario) played well against the No. 11 UCF pair of Korey Lovett and Eero Vasa, but their match went unfinished at 5-4.
The team battled in singles going 3-3. On court two, Lakoseljac's accuracy led to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Decamps. In his second appearance at a lineup position, Galush proved his skill level knocking off Kerznerman 6-2, 6-4. Nemeth clinched the match for the Lions after he held off No. 124 Rubio 6-4, 7-6 (4). De La Bassetiere had a tough match against Lovett but was defeated, 6-4, 6-3. Antonopoulos fell to Sokolovskiy in a close match, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Sentay lost 6-2, 7-5.
"What a team win," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "The boys are so close knit and play so hard for each other. They literally willed Gabe to victory. We have played two really good teams that have terrific coaches and pedigree. We need to ride the momentum and continue to play for one another."
"College tennis at its best," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "It was a huge win for Gabriel; most players would fold under the pressure, but he stayed calm. We played strong in doubles, but I knew that Central Florida was not going to give up. The wind was a factor, but I actually thought it helped us. Constant, Matt and Christian did a great job getting points on the board."
The Lions are now 7-5 on the season. The team is back in action Friday, March 9 when they take on Georgia State at 1:00 p.m. at the USTA Tennis Center.
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Doubles Results:
1. C. De La Bassetiere/C. Lakoseljac (PSU) vs. No. 11 K. Lovett/E. Vasa (UCF) 5-4, unfinished
2. C. Antonopoulos/A. Sentay (PSU) def. A. Rubio/M. Sokolovskiy (UCF) 6-1
3. G. Nemeth/M. Galush (PSU) def. D. Kerznerman/G. Decamps (UCF) 6-3
Singles Results:
1. Korey Lovett (UCF) def. No. 94 Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Gabriel Decamps (UCF) 6-4, 6-4
3. Mikhail Sokolovskiy (UCF) def. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) 6-3, 7-6 (4)
4. Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. No. 124 Alan Rubio (UCF) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
5. Eero Vasa (UCF) def. Alp Sentay (PSU) 6-2, 7-5.
6. Matt Galush (PSU) def. Danny Kerznerman (UCF) 6-2, 6-4