ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 3 seeded Penn State men's tennis swept Iowa, 4-0, to advance on in the Big Ten Tournament. The team will face No. 2 seed Illinois in the Semifinals on Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. This will mark the program's second appearance in the Semifinals at the conference tournament.
The Nittany Lions found redemption against the Hawkeyes after losing to them 4-3, earlier in the season. The squad is now 19-7 on the season.
"We played through a lot of adversity today with the weather," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "It was extremely windy and the tennis was all about being smart and playing with heart. We took the warmup time to get used to the indoor courts and we played really well to close out the match. It was nice to redeem the loss that we endured at Iowa earlier this season. We felt we let one get away at their place and we weren't going to let that happen again today. Tomorrow is going to be another great match against another great opponent. We will be ready and I know we will compete hard."
"Not easy conditions for the guys to compete in, going outside at first under very windy conditions," associate head coach Paul Tobin said. "When we moved due to rain, that's when we took control. Happy we got this win under our belt and we can focus on the winner of Illinois and Purdue."
DOUBLES
Penn State won two of three doubles matches, with one going unfinished, to take the first point of the contest. All three doubles matches were played outside.
Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) and Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) defeated Kareem Allaf/Jonas Larsen, 6-4. The win makes them 2-0 at the No. 2 singles spot in the doubles lineup and gives them an overall record of 13-5 this season.
Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) earned a victory against Joe Tyler/Nikita Snezhko, 7-5, to secure the point. The pair is now 13-5 on the season.
SINGLES
Penn State won singles matches on the first three courts to earn the match win. All six singles matches were in the midst of the first set when the teams were forced inside due to inclement weather.
No. 91 Lakoseljac was the first Nittany Lion to get a singles win against Okonkwo, 6-4, 6-2. The win gives him a 19-4 record at the No. 2 slot and 20 wins overall.
No. 28 Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) earned a win over Allaf, who he lost to last time the teams met, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. He is now 20-3 at the No. 1 singles spot. The senior captain is also 10-1 over ranked opponents and has defeated the last nine he has faced.
Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil) clinched the match win and punched Penn State's ticket to the Semifinals. Nemeth defeated Larsen in a close second set, 6-3, 7-5. He now has nine wins on the season.
NEXT UP
The Blue and White will advance on to the Semifinals to take on No. 2 seed Illinois on Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m.
The two teams last met on Friday, April 12, when the Fight Illini emerged with the close 4-3 victory.
Doubles results:
1. #36 Constant De La Bassetiere/Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. #87 Oliver Okonkwo/Will Davies (Iowa) 5-6, unfinished
2. Christian Lakoseljac/Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Kareem Allaf/Jonas Larsen (Iowa) 6-4, unfinished
3. Ben Lieb/Matt Galush (PSU) def. Joe Tyler/Nikita Snezhko (Iowa) 7-5
Singles Results:
1. #28 Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. #112 Kareem Allaf (Iowa) 6-3, 6-3
2. #91 Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Oliver Okonkwo (Iowa) 6-4, 6-2
3. Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Jonas Larsen (Iowa) 6-3, 7-5
4. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) vs.Will Davies (Iowa) 0-6, 6-6, unfinished
5. Ben Lieb (PSU) vs. Joe Tyler (Iowa) 5-4, unfinished
6. Alp Sentay (PSU) vs. Jason Kerst (Iowa) did not compete
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