UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 37 Penn State will host another trio of home matches this weekend and close out nonconference competition. The Nittany Lions will face No. 35 Minnesota (12-3, B1G 1-2) on Friday, March 29 at 5 p.m. in addition to Wisconsin (7-6, B1G 1-2) and St. Bonaventure (6-10, A10 0-0) in a doubleheader on Sunday, March 31 at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
All matches are slated to take place in the Indoor Tennis Center.
"We have another big weekend with Minnesota and Wisconsin coming to town," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "They are both really good teams with outstanding coaching staffs. Both teams have had good wins this year and Minnesota is improving on last year's terrific season. We have to continue to play at our highest level in both matches and I'm sure we will be up to the task."
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LAST TIME OUT
Penn State earned three wins over the weekend against then No. 16 Michigan, 5-2, Cornell, 4-1, and JMU, 4-1.
The Nittany Lions clinched the doubles point in all three matches before dominating in singles to clinch each match.
Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) competed in two singles contests over the weekend and came out with two wins to improve to 12-2 at no. 2 singles and secure eight straight wins.
CONSTANT SUCCESS
No. 44 Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) continued his hot streak in singles play, going undefeated throughout three matches last weekend.
De La Bassetiere started his weekend with a win over #46 Mattias Siimar 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 of Michigan. He then went on to earn wins over Cornell's #113 Alafia Ayeni 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-3 and JMU's Pierre Kohler 6-4, 6-2.
The senior captain is now 12-2 at the No. 1 singles position and has won his last six matches since losing to Ohio State's No. 1 JJ Wolf. He is still one of only two players in the nation to take Wolf to three sets in addition to being the only player in the country to have two match points on him. De La Bassetiere has also won nine of his last 10 matches and 12 first sets in a row.
The No. 11 pair of De La Bassetiere and Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil) also earned two wins over the weekend including a 7-6 (6) win over Michigan's Harrison Brown and Siimar in addition to a 6-4 victory over Ayeni and Eero Vasa. The duo did not compete together against JMU.
The tandem is now 9-4 in the No. 1 doubles slot and has won their last six matches.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS
Minnesota is coming off a string of two Big Ten losses at the hands of Iowa, 4-3, and Nebraska, 4-3. The Golden Gophers are also 3-1 away from home this season.
No. 47 Josip Krstanovic is the team's lone ranked singles player and owns a 9-4 record at the No. 1 spot and is 2-1 against other ranked opponents.
The Gophers' roster also features the No. 73 pair of Josip Krstanovic/Justyn Levin who are 6-5 at the No. 1 doubles spot but are currently on a two-match losing streak.
Penn State owns an all-time 8-21 record against Minnesota. The teams last met in the 2018 season when the then No. 33 Gophers came out with the win, 5-2.
INSIDE THE BADGERS
Wisconsin is coming into Happy Valley straight off three losses, with the last one coming against Iowa, 4-3. The Badgers have yet to win a match on the road this spring, with a record of 0-3.
The team's only ranked pair of No. 25 Osgar O'Hoisin/Jared Pratt owns an 8-2 record at the No. 1 doubles spot and are 1-0 against opposing ranked duos.
Penn State has an all-time record of 12-17 against Wisconsin. The two teams last met last season with the then No. 50 Badgers emerging victories over the Nittany Lions, 4-3.
The Badgers will travel to No. 1 Ohio State on Friday, March 29 before facing the Nittany Lions.
LOOKING INTO THE BONNIES
St. Bonaventure is currently riding a two-match losing streak, coming off a loss to Marist. 6-1. The Bonnies also have a 2-6 road record so far this season.
Marco Rivolo is the Bonnie's top performer, going 8-5 at the No. 5 singles and 2-0 at the No. 6 slot in the lineup. He has won his last five matches.
Penn State is a perfect 17-0 all-time against St. Bonaventure. The teams last met in the 2017 season when the Nittany Lions shut the Bonnies out, 7-0.
The Bonnies will face Duquesne on Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m. before traveling to Happy Valley.
NEXT UP
Penn State will travel to take on Iowa Friday, April 6 and Nebraska Sunday, April 7.
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.