UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 30 Penn State men's tennis (14-5, B1G 4-1) will start its four-match road stretch against Big Ten rivals No. 48 Iowa (12-6, B1G 3-2) Friday, April 5 at 7 p.m. and Nebraska (9-11, B1G 1-4) Sunday, April 7 at 1 p.m.
"As a coaching staff we have looked at this weekend for awhile now," said head coach Jeff Zinn. We knew we would be right in the hunt for a high seed for the Big Ten tournament at this time of the year. We also know that winning on the road is extremely hard in this conference and it's going to take a strong effort on everyone's part to get the wins we so desperately need. Hopefully we will be ready for anything and give our best effort."
FOLLOW ALONG
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State earned three dominating wins in the three matches the team hosted last weekend. The Nittany Lions defeated then-No. 35 Minnesota, 5-2 on Friday as well as Wisconsin, 6-1 and St. Bonaventure, 7-0 on Sunday.
No. 95 Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) jumped up 21 spots in ITA singles rankings after earning three straight set wins in a dominant weekend. The junior is now 15-2 in singles this spring and has a 5-0 Big Ten record. Lakoseljac is also on an 11-match win streak.
The senior pair of Ben Lieb (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Matt Galush (Cary, N.C.) also had a great weekend, earning doubles wins in both matches they competed in. The pair is 10-3 at the No. 2 doubles spot. They are also on a three-match winning streak and 3-1 in conference play.
After winning their last seven matches, including their last four Big Ten contests, the Nittany Lions were ranked No. 24 in the USTA Top 25 poll for the first time in program history. The ranking coincides with the seven-spot jump the team made in ITA rankings as well.
CONSTANT SUCCESS
Constant De La Bassetiere (Reims, France) won his third Big Ten Athlete of the Week honor, becoming the second student-athlete in program history to do so.
De La Bassetiere is the first Nittany Lions to earn three Big Ten Athlete of the Week awards since Leonard Stakhovsky in 2014.
The conference praise comes after a stellar weekend of competition for De La Bassetiere including two singles wins and two doubles wins. He is now 14-2 in the No. 1 singles spot and has won his last eight matches.
The senior captain defeated then-No. 47 Josip Krstanovic of then-No. 35 Minnesota, 6-3, 6-2. He is now 7-1 over a ranked opponent this season and 4-1 in the Big.
Paired with Gabriel Nemeth (Brasilia, Brazil), the two earned two wins including defeated the then-No. 25 duo of Jared Pratt/Osgar O'Hoisin of Wisconsin, 7-5. The tandem is now 11-4 at the No. 1 doubles spot and 3-0 in the Big Ten. They also now have two wins over ranked opponents and have secured eight straight wins.
SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
Penn State will travel to the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex to take on Iowa. The match will most likely take place outside.
The Hawkeyes are currently riding a two-match losing streak, coming off losses to Northwestern and then-No. 14 Illinois.
However, Iowa is extremely comfortable at home with a 10-1 record. The only loss of their season in Iowa City came against Miami (Fla.) in the beginning of the spring.
The Hawkeyes' roster features one ranked doubles pair in No. 74 Will Davies/Oliver Okonkwo. The pair has an overall 12-4 record this season while playing at both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the lineup. The duo is also 3-1 in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions own an 18-12 all-time record against the Hawkeyes. They most recently met last season when the Blue and White came out on top- 4-3.
LOOKING INTO THE CORNHUSKERS
Penn State will travel to Nebraska's Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center to compete, where they will most likely play indoors.
The Cornhuskers are also riding a two-match losing streak, with losses to then-No. 14 Illinois and Northwestern. The team is 5-2 at home this season.
The Cornhuskers' only ranked player is No. 93 Toby Boyer. Boyer owns a 14-3 record at the No. 1 singles position and a 4-2 record against ranked opponents. He also has a 3-2 record in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions own a 4-1 all-time record against the Hawkeyes. The teams' most recent meeting was in the 2018 season which resulted in a win for the Blue and White, 6-1.
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.