University Park, Pa. – An exciting doubles point victory wasn't enough to lift Penn State men's tennis (7-5) past No. 18 Princeton (12-4) Friday night at the Indoor Tennis Center, as the Tigers emerged with the 4-1 win.
The Nittany Lions are now 7-2 at home.
"We knew we were in a tough hole," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "You can get energy in doubles because it is just one set but to continue that through a whole match is tough. We got ahead in couples courts in singles but just could not sustain the lead."
"We played well in doubles and got the point," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "Even though it looked like we were jumping on early leads in singles, Princeton played well and didn't let us see much light."
DOUBLES
After losing on court three, Penn State came back to win on the first two courts in tiebreaks to secure the first point of the match.
At the top lineup spot, the pair of Gabriel Nemeth and Alp Sentay knocked off the No. 16-ranked doubles pair in the country in Ryan Seggerman and Payton Holden, 7-6 (3). The victory marks the duo's marks the team's seventh in a row and their first over a ranked opponent.
Christos Antonopoulos and Charl Morgan clinched the doubles point on the second court with a win over Justin Barki and Damian Rodriguez, 7-6 (4).
SINGLES
Winning the doubles point proved not to be enough though, as the Tigers came back in singles to win on the first four courts and clinch the match win, 4-1.
Matches on courts five and six went unfinished.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the No. 5-ranked Buckeyes on Sunday, March 8 at noon.
RESULTS
Princeton 4, Penn State 1
Doubles results:
1. Alp Sentay/Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) def. Ryan Seggerman/Payton Holden (PRIN) 7-6 (3)
2. Christos Antonopoulos/Charl Morgan (PSU) def. Justin Barki/Damian Rodriguez (PRIN) 7-6 (4)
3. Karl Poling/Bill Duo (PRIN) def. Chikaya Sato/Noah Sutter (PSU) 6-1
Singles results:
1. #113 Karl Poling (PRIN) def. Charl Morgan (PSU) 6-4, 6-0
2. #124 Ryan Seggerman (PRIN) def. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Justin Barki (PRIN) def. Gabriel Nemeth (PSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Will Peters (PRIN) def. Alp Sentay (PSU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Chikaya Sato (PSU) vs. Davey Roberts (PRIN) 5-5, unfinished
6. Ismail Saadi (PSU) vs. Bill Duo (PRIN) 3-6, unfinished
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