EAST LANSING, Mich. — Penn State men's tennis (3-4, 3-4 B1G) earned its first road win of the season in a 5-2 decision over Michigan State (2-6, 2-4 B1G) Sunday afternoon. After losing the early doubles point, the Nittany Lions bounced back in singles to win their sixth straight match against the Spartans.
"I'm proud of the guys to come back the way we did today, especially after not doing well in doubles," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "That is something we have to work on in practice this week. We came back on a Big Ten foe's home court and played lights out in singles. We won four matches in straight sets and I'm really pleased about that. Hopefully, that will give us momentum in another road trip next week."
"It's always a big confidence boost to get a win on the road in the Big Ten," associate head coach Paul Tobin said. "Our guys were locked in during singles after we let the doubles point slide. Michigan State has improved tremendously and they kept it tight the whole time."
DOUBLES
The Spartans clinched the doubles point with wins on the first two courts to take a 1-0 lead.
At the No. 1 spot, Tim Ruetzel (Munich, Germany) and Charl Morgan (Johannesburg, South Africa) competed in a hard-fought battle but came up short against Nick Williams and Kazuki Matsuno 6-4.
On court two, the Spartans' double team of Reed Crocker and Drew Keene defeated Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) and Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) 6-3.
Partners Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) and Sam Bossem (Wimborne Minster, United Kingdom) earned their first win as a duo this season as they put away John Carlin and Graydon Lair 6-3.
SINGLES
After trailing 1-0 headed into singles play, the Nittany Lions won on five of the six singles courts to clinch the match.
Miko Eala (Philippines/Manacor, Spain) continued to impress as he evened the score at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Anthony Pero to improve to 5-2 in singles action this season.
Freshman Bora Sengul (Denizli, Turkey) swept the Spartans' Carson Gates 6-4, 6-2 to give Penn State a 2-1 lead.
For the fourth-straight match, Tim Ruetzel was victorious as he defeated Luke Baylis 6-2, 6-4 on court five to push the Nittany Lions to a 3-1 advantage.
Senior Christian Lakoseljac clinched the match for the Nittany Lions at the No. 1 spot with a sweep over Josh Mukherjee 7-6, 6-1.
On court six, Charl Morgan won his last two sets, defeating Grayson Lair 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
In a back-and-forth battle, Christos Antonopoulos fell to Nick Williams in the third set 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions continue their road trip with matches at Wisconsin on Friday, March 19 and Minnesota on Sunday, March 21.
RESULTS
Penn State 5, Michigan State 2
Doubles results:
1. Nick Williams/Kazuki Matsuno (MSU) def. Tim Ruetzel/Charl Morgan (PSU) 6-4
2. Reed Crocker/Drew Keene (MSU) def. Christos Antonopoulos/Alp Sentay (PSU) 6-3
3. Christian Lakoseljac/Sam Bossem (PSU) def. John Carlin/Graydon Lair (MSU) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles results:
1. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Josh Mukherjee (MSU) 7-6, 6-1
2. Bora Sengul (PSU) def. Carson Gates (MSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Nick Williams (MSU) def. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
4. Miko Eala (PSU) def. Anthony Pero (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Tim Ruetzel (PSU) def. Luke Baylis (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Charl Morgan (PSU) def. Grayson Lair (MSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 4, 2, 5, 1, 6, 3
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.