UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State men's tennis (0-2, 0-2 B1G) will travel to Columbus, Ohio for its third straight road match to take on No. 7 Ohio State (5-1, 2-0 B1G) at the Varsity Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m.
"This is another golden opportunity to play one of the best teams in America and in the Big Ten," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "We will have our full lineup available and it will be a battle with Ohio State. It always is a war with them and I doubt this will be any different. The players are ready to compete and know we need quality matches to keep improving throughout the season."
FOLLOW ALONG
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions were unable to bring home a win last weekend with losses to two Top 25 teams at Illinois and Northwestern.
Penn State lost a tough decision to Illinois 5-2 after losing the doubles point and fell short in a singles comeback. Team captain Christian Lakoseljac swept No. 15 Alex Brown in straight sets 7-6, 6-3 and freshman Miko Eala notched his first career singles win.
After losing the early doubles point to Northwestern on Sunday, the Wildcats won the next three points in singles to solidify a 6-1 victory in the Combe Tennis Center. Miko Eala and rookie teammate Bora Sengul extended both their matches to three sets. On court four, Eala defeated veteran Trice Pickens 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8) to put a point on the board for the Nittany Lions.
A LOOK INTO THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State enters Saturday's matchup on a four-match winning streak with its only loss to Virginia, 4-2, in the ITA Kickoff weekend. The Buckeyes remain undefeated in conference play, including a Top 10 victory against Illinois last weekend.
The Buckeyes return their entire roster from last season, which features three returning All-Americans in senior John McNally and sophomores Cannon Kinglsey (2020 National Freshman of the Year) and Robert Cash.
Ohio State's lineup includes four athletes ranked in the preseason singles rankings — Kingsley (5), McNally (11), Kyle Seelig (25) and James Trotter (80). McNally and Cash check in as the fifth-ranked doubles pair in the country.
In last year's battle, former teammate Gabriel Nemeth was the lone Nittany Lion to win a singles match and defeated Justin Boulais in three sets 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9). Ohio State has the all-time advantage over Penn State, with a 25-6 record.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions return to Happy Valley to host their first two-game home stand of the season against Indiana on March 6 and Purdue on March 7.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State men's tennis team during the season. Follow the team on Twitter @pennstateMTEN, Instagram @pennstatemtennis and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstatemenstennis.