UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 37 Penn State men's tennis earned two dominant wins in doubleheader action on Sunday to secure three wins on the weekend. The Nittany Lions downed Wisconsin, 6-1 and St. Bonaventure, 7-0, in addition to a 5-2 win over Minnesota on Friday.
The Nittany Lions improved to 14-5 overall this season and are now 9-1 in the Indoor Tennis Center. The team has also won their last seven matches in a row.
"I'm really pleased with where we are right now," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "We have to keep things going and keep the momentum rolling. There is a lot of belief right now amongst the team and when you have that and get over that hurdle, the rest is just hard work.
WISCONSIN MATCH
The Nittany Lions won a closely contested doubles point before dominating in singles play to clinch a match win against the Badgers.
The Blue and White improved to 4-1 in Big Ten play while the Badgers now sit at 7-8 overall and 1-4 in conference competition.
"We knew Wisconsin was going to be tough in doubles, and even after being up double breaks, they came back," associate head coach Paul Tobin said. "Glad we pulled that one out. I hope we can continue this momentum on the road."
DOUBLES
Penn State won two of three doubles matches to claim the first point of the match.
The No. 11 pair of Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) and Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil) got things started for the Nittany Lions with a win over Jared Pratt/Osgar O'Hoisin, 7-5. The pair is now 11-4 at No. 1 doubles and has won their last eight straight. The win also marks their second over ranked opponents and third win in Big Ten play to remain perfect in that category.
To clinch the eighth consecutive doubles team point for the Blue and White, Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) battled Jesper Freimuth/Lenard Soha to get the win, 7-6 (4). The duo is now 10-3 at No. 2 doubles and 3-1 in conference competition.
SINGLES
Penn State earned five singles wins, three in straight sets, to secure the match win for the team.
Nemeth won his second consecutive first singles team point for Penn State with a straight sets win over Soha, 6-2, 6-3. Nemeth is now 7-4 at No. 4 singles and 4-1 in Big Ten competition. The junior stayed perfect this weekend in both doubles and singles through the three matches he competed in.
No. 116 Lakoseljac earned a dominating victory against Freimuth, 6-3, 6-4. He is now 14-2 at No. 2 singles and is a perfect 5-0 in conference play.
Antonopoulos clinched the match win for the Nittany Lions with a win over Chase Colton, 6-4, 6-2. He now has five wins at the No. 3 singles spot.
De La Bassetiere defeated O'Hoisin, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, in a three-set battle. He is now 14-2 at the No. 1 singles spot and has won his last eight contests in a row. The senior captain is also 4-1 in the Big Ten and stayed perfect through three matches this weekend in doubles and singles play.
Lieb also got the win against Robert Krill in a third-set tiebreaker, 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-4). He is now 6-3 at the No. 5 singles slot and has won his last four. The senior captain is also 3-0 in Big Ten matches.
RESULTS AGAINST THE BADGERS
Doubles results:
1. #11 Constant De La Bassetiere/Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Jared Pratt/Osgar O'Hoisin (WISCO) 7-5
2. Ben Lieb/Matt Galush (PSU) def. Jesper Freimuth/Lenard Soha (WISCO) 7-6 (4)
3. Robert Krill/Chase Colton (WISCO) def. Christian Lakoseljac/Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) 7-5
Singles Results:
1. #44 Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Osgar O'Hoisin (WISCO) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. #116 Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Jesper Freimuth (WISCO) 6-3, 6-4
3. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Chase Colton (WISCO) 6-4, 6-2
4. Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Lenard Soha (WISCO) 6-2, 6-3
5. Ben Lieb (PSU) def. Robert Krill (WISCO) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-4)
6. Jared Pratt (WISCO) def. Jordan Nickerson (PSU) 6-4, 6-4
ST. BONAVENTURE MATCH
Penn State closed out its nonconference schedule with a shutout win over St. Bonaventure, 7-0.
The Nittany Lions won the doubles point before its strong performance in singles competition to secure the match win.
The Bonnies now stand with a 6-12 overall record.
DOUBLES
Penn State won two of three matches to win the doubles point. They have yet to drop a team doubles point for the last nine matches.
Nemeth and Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) defeated John Rutkowski/Marco Rivolo, 6-3, to get the team going. The win marks the second the pair has won together this season.
The pair of Jordan Nickerson (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Noah Sutter (New York, N.Y.) made their debut together and clinched the doubles point for the Blue and White with a win over Logan D'Angelo/Martin Estevarena, 6-3.
SINGLES
Penn State won all six matches in straight sets to secure the shutout win for the team.
Lakoseljac played in the No. 1 singles spot for the first time this season and got the win over Patwardhan, 6-0, 6-1. He is now 15-2 on the season and has won his last 11 contests.
Antonopoulos followed with a win of his own against Estevarena, 6-3, 6-0. He now has nine total wins on the season.
Sentay secured the match win for the Blue and White with a victory over Rutkowski, 6-2, 6-0. He now has a total of five wins.
In his first time at the No. 3 singles spot, Nickerson defeated Malmberg, 6-2, 6-0 to capture his fourth win of the season.
Zach Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) made his singles debut in the lineup. Z. Lieb got a straight sets to win over Marco Rivolo, 6-3, 7-5.
Chris Kuhnle (Shoreham, N.Y.) made his debut in singles and finished the match out strong for Blue and White with a win over Jonni Heikkila.
RESULTS AGAINST THE BONNIES
Doubles results:
1. Indra Patwardhan/Lukas Malmberg (BONNIE) Matt Galush/Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) 6-3
2. Gabriel Nemeth/Alp Sentay (PSU) John Rutkowski/Marco Rivolo (BONNIE) 6-3
3. Noah Sutter/Jordan Nickerson (PSU) Logan D'Angelo/Martin Estevarena (BONNIE) 6-3
Singles Results:
1. #116 Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Indra Patwardhan (BONNIE) 6-0, 6-1
2. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Martin Estevarena (BONNIE) 6-3, 6-0
3. Jordan Nickerson (PSU) def. Lukas Malmberg (BONNIE) 6-0, 6-4
4. Alp Sentay (PSU) def. John Rutkowski (BONNIE) 6-2, 6-0
5. Zach Lieb (PSU) def. Marco Rivolo (BONNIE) 6-3, 7-5
6. Chris Kuhnle (PSU) Jonni Heikkila (BONNIE) 6-2, 6-3
NEXT UP
Penn State will travel to take on Iowa Friday, April 5 at 6 p.m. and Nebraska Sunday, April 7 at 1 p.m.
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.