Cambridge, Ma. – Despite some close contests, Penn State men's tennis lost a hard-fought match to Harvard, 4-1. The Crimson dealt the Nittany Lions their first loss of the spring season, bringing their overall record to 3-1.
"I first want to congratulate a very good Harvard team that gave us everything they had today," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "There is a reason they made the NCAA tournament last year and I was impressed with their play and sportsmanship. We played just as well as we did last weekend but came up short on a few points in both doubles and singles. Vanderbilt was also an NCAA tournament team last year and is one of the top teams in the SEC. We will have another battle on our hands but we will play hard and hopefully things will go our way."
"The guys fought hard against a top team on the road," associate coach Paul Tobin said. "This could have gone either way. We were hoping we could continue our doubles momentum, but we did not do what we needed to do today. We need to regroup and get ready for a tough Vanderbilt team tomorrow."
DOUBLES
Although the Blue and White fought hard in doubles, Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) and Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) were the only ones to come out with a win. The pair defeated Shi/Sun, 6-4. The duo of Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) and Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) had an opportunity to clinch the match for the Nittany Lions but dropped a very close battle to Wrzesinski/Morrow, 7-6.
SINGLES
Even with many matches staying close, Penn State could not muster up enough singles wins to take the lead. Lieb was the first and only Nittany Lion to earn a victory, defeating Constantin Zoske in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3. Although Lakoseljac and Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) were in the process of taking their own matches into third sets, Lucas Koelle was able to clinch the match for the Crimson with a win over Antonopoulos in a close three-set tilt, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions will be back on the court Sunday, Feb. 3, to take on Vanderbilt (3-2) at 1:00 p.m.
Singles results:
1. Zhou (HARVARD) vs. De La Bassetiere (PSU) 7-6(5), 4-2, unfinished
2. Wrzesinski (HARVARD) vs. Lakoseljac (PSU) 6-4, 6-7, unfinished
3. Walker (HARVARD) def. Nemeth (PSU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Koelle (HARVARD) def. Antonopoulos (PSU) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
5. Sun (HARVARD) def. Nickerson (PSU) 7-6(11), 6-3
6. Lieb (PSU) def. Zoske (HARVARD) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles results:
1. Zhou/Weber (HARVARD) def. De La Bassetiere/Nemeth (PSU) 6-3
2. Wrzesinski/Morrow (HARVARD) def. Galush/Lieb (PSU) 7-6
3. Lakoseljac/Antonopoulos def. Shi/Sun (HARVARD) 6-4
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 Penn State Men's Tennis and follow our twitter @pennstateMTEN.