UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 34 Penn State men's tennis defeated Purdue, 4-3, at the Sarni Tennis Center on Senior Day to cap off a successful 2019 campaign. The Nittany Lions end the regular season with an overall record of 18-7 and an 11-1 record at home.
"The seniors are so important to this team, on and off the court, and I am happy we got the win for them today," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "We kept our composure after doubles and I think that was very important. It was our first outside match at home this season and the weather played a big part today. But we persevered and that is the mark of a good team."
"Huge win on Senior Day and feeling a sense of relief knowing we are a top seed at the Big Ten Tournament," associate head coach Paul Tobin said. "We struggled today in doubles, some of the guys have to adjust better to going outside and play more aggressively."
The B1G Picture
The team will enter the Big Ten Tournament as a No. 3 seed and with an 8-3 conference record, which ties a program-best from 2014.
The Blue and White will have a bye on the first day of the tournament, Thursday, April 25, and will then play the winner of the match between the No. 6 seed and the No. 11 seed in the Quarterfinals on Friday, April 26, at 2 p.m.
The full tournament bracket will be announced on Sunday night.
DOUBLES
Penn State dropped the doubles point against Purdue, only winning one matchup.
Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) were the only duo to get the "W" with a victory over Franz Luna/Dominik Sochureck, 6-1. The pair ended the regular season with 12 total wins and an 8-2 record in the Big Ten.
SINGLES
Penn State battled back to win four singles matches to take the last regular season match win of 2019.
Antonopoulos got the first win for the Nittany Lions in singles, defeating Sochureck in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. He goes into the postseason with 13 overall wins and six in conference.
Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) also earned a victory over Santiago Galan, 6-3, 6-2. Sentay ends regular season play with seven overall wins and two in the Big Ten.
Lakoseljac also picked up a win over Mateo Julio in a three-set battle, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. He closes out the regular season with 19 total wins and a 9-2 record in conference.
Senior captain Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) clinched the match win for the Nittany Lions against Athell Bennett, 7-6 (4), 6-4. De La Bassetiere will enter the conference tournament with a 19-3 record at the No. 1 singles position and a 9-2 in the Big Ten.
NEXT UP
The Blue and White will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. to compete in the Big Ten Tournament from Thursday, April 25 to Sunday, April 28.
Doubles results:
1. Athell Bennett/Stephan Koenigsfest (PUR) def. #34 Constant De La Bassetiere/Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) 6-1
2. Mateo Julio/Maksymilian Raupuk (PUR) def. Ben Lieb/Matt Galush (PSU) 6-4
3. Christian Lakoseljac/Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Franz Luna/Dominik Sochureck (PUR) 6-1
Singles Results:
1. #25 Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Athell Bennett (PUR) 7-6 (4), 6-4
2. #101 Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Mateo Julio (PUR) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
3. Maksymilian Raupuk (PUR) def. Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) 7-6 (4), 6-2
4. Stephan Koenigsfest (PUR) def. Ben Lieb (PSU) 6-4, 7-5
5. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Franz Luna (PUR) 6-2, 6-0
6. Alp Sentay (PSU) def. Santiago Galan (PUR) 6-3, 6-2
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