April 22, 2018
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 49 Penn State men's tennis team faced No. 46 Indiana today. The Hoosiers knocked off the Lions, 4-0.
In doubles, the point came down to court three but the Lions were defeated. Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) and Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) dominated Bennett Crane and Keivon Tabrizi, 6-1. Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario) sent their match to a tiebreak to clinch the doubles point but ultimately fell to Afonso Salgado and Antonio Cembellin, 7-6 (3). Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil) and Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) fell in a tightly contested match to Raheel Manji and Zac Brodney, 7-5.
In singles, the team sent multiple matches to tie breaks but were unable to clinch. Antonopoulos fell to Crane, 6-2, 6-2. Ben Lieb found rhythm in the second set but was defeated by Brodney, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Sentay was knocked off by Andrew Redding, 6-3, 6-4. The last three matches in play went unfinished. De La Bassetiere faced No. 121 Manji and was down a set after losing in a tiebreak. Lakoseljac won his first set in tiebreak against Cembellin, but was down in the second set. Nemeth pushed his match to a third set against Tabrizi.
We let too many opportunities slip by today," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "We had momentum after winning at No. 1 doubles, but we could not close it out on serve. I don't think we played well in some singles matches, but the other courts were fighting. A disappointing loss, but Indiana played well on their senior day in front of a loud and supportive crowd. Our focus is now on the post-season and the Big Ten Tournament."
The Lions concluded their regular season 15-11 (5-6 B1G). The team finished the season 10-1 at home. The last time the Lions had only one loss at home was the during the 2015-2016 season when they made the NCAA Tournament.
Penn State will head to the Big Ten Championships next weekend. The championship tournament will begin April 26 in Iowa City, Iowa. The seeding for the event will be announced later this week.
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. Christos Antonopoulo/Alp Sentay (PSU) def. Bennett Crane/Keivon Tabrizi (IND) 6-1
2. Raheel Manji/Zac Brodney (IND) def. Gabriel Nemeth/C. De La Bassetiere (PSU) 7-5
3. Afonso Salgado/Antonio Cembellin (IND) def. Ben Lieb/Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) 7-6 (3)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles Results:
1. C. De La Bassetiere (PSU) vs. #121 Raheel Manji (IND) 6-7 (2-7), 1-1, unfinished
2. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) vs. Antonio Cembellin (IND) 7-6 (10-8), 2-5, unfinished
3. Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) vs. Keivon Tabrizi (IND) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0, unfinished
4. Bennett Crane (IND) def. Christos Antonopoulo (PSU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Zac Brodney (IND) def. Ben Lieb (PSU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Andrew Redding (IND) def. Alp Sentay (PSU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 6, 5