UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 39 Penn State men's tennis improved to 3-0 at home with a dominant win over Buffalo 6-1 Saturday afternoon at the Indoor Tennis Center.
The Nittany Lions overall record now stands at 6-3 while the Bulls dropped to 3-3.
"This was one of the more complete matches we have played this year," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "Our intensity level was great throughout doubles and singles. I thought our positivity was the best it's been all year. If we can stay in that mindset for the rest of the season we'll be pretty good."
"Good win today," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "Buffalo upset No. 33 Harvard, so we knew they had it in them to push us. Other than some struggles in a couple of spots, we played well and need to keep getting better."
DOUBLES
Penn State started off strong, winning the doubles point. The No. 7 pair of Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) and Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil) started off with a dominating win over Fridell/Wibler, 6-1.
Following was Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) and Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.), who took down Johnson/Holm to secure the doubles point and put the Nittany Lions up 1-0 going into singles play.
The match between the duo of Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) and Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) and Nittolo/Sheng Koay went unfinished.
SINGLES
No. 92 De La Bassetiere got the first victory in singles for Penn State, defeating Vilhelm Fridell in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. He has won his last five matches to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Antonopoulos handed Nickolas Frisk his third loss of the season defeating him, 6-2, 6-2.
On the second court, Lakoseljac clinched the match win for the Blue and White, defeating Ethan Nittolo in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.
Lieb and Jordan Nickerson (Boca Raton, Fla.) rounded out the Nittany Lions' lineup with a win each. Lieb got the win over Matthew Johnson 3-6, 6-0, 10-5, while Nickerson defeated Valdemar Holm 3-6, 6-3, 10-7.
NEXT UP
The Blue and White will face No. 1 Ohio State next to open up Big Ten play. The match is slated for Friday, March 1 at 4 p.m. at the Indoor Tennis Center.
Doubles results:
1. #7 Constant De La Bassetiere/Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Vilhelm Fridell/Simon Wibler (BUF) 6-1
2. Christian Lakoseljac/Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Ethan Nittolo/Hao Sheng Koay (BUF) 5-5, unfinished
3. Ben Lieb/Alp Sentay (PSU) def. Matthew Johnson/Valdemar Holm (BUF) 6-4
Singles Results:
1. #92 Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Vilhelm Fridell (BUF) 6-1, 6-2
2. Christian Lakoseljac def. Ethan Nittolo (BUF) 6-4, 6-1
3. Hao Sheng Koay (BUF) def. Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Nickolas Frisk (BUF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Matthew Johnson (BUF) 3-6, 6-0, 10-5
6. Jordan Nickerson (PSU) def. Valdemar Holm (BUF) 3-6, 6-3, 10-7
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