UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 36 Penn State men's tennis will travel to Orlando, Fla. to compete in the USTA National Campus Collegiate Series. The Nittany Lions will take on Florida Gulf Coast (3-4) Wednesday, March 6 at noon before facing No. 49 UCF (6-5) Friday, March 8 at 6 p.m.
"When you play your first match outdoors you are always wondering which team is going to show up," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "Hopefully it is the same team that showed up this past Friday against Ohio State. Florida Gulf Coast is a really good team that has competed hard against everyone they have played. Their record could easily be different if they had won some of those 4-3 matches. We are definitely looking forward to competing against them."
FOLLOW ALONG
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State opened conference play against No. 1 Ohio State on March 1. After losing the doubles point to the 16-0 Buckeyes, Penn State fought hard in singles but eventually lost the contest, 4-1.
No. 110 Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) defeated No. 30 John McNally at the No. 2 singles spot. The win marks Lakoseljac's second win over a ranked opponent of the season and he now sits with a 7-2 singles record.
No. 101 Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) faced the top-ranked singles player in the nation in JJ Wolf. Although De La Bassetiere won the first set, a feat only one other player has been able to accomplish this season, Wolf fought back to win the second and third to take home the victory.
SCOPING OUT THE EAGLES
Florida Gulf Coast is coming off a 4-3 loss to Charlotte, a team Penn State easily defeated earlier in its season.
The Nittany Lions have a 1-0 all-time record against the Eagles. The last meeting between the two teams was in the 2016 season and Penn State came out on top with a 4-1 victory.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
In its fifth straight win, UCF took down No. 29 Miami 4-0. The Hurricanes are the only opponent of the fourth ranked teams the Knights have faced that they earned a win over.
Leading the charge for the Knights is No. 18 Gabriel Decamps who is 4-2 at the No. 1 position and is 1-1 against other ranked singles players. Teammate Alan Rubio is also ranked at No. 122.
Penn State has a 1-0 record against UCF. The teams' last meeting came in the 2018 season when the Nittany Lions emerged with a 4-3 win.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will return to Big Ten action against Michigan State on Saturday, March 16 at 4 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.
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.