MADISON, Wis. — The Penn State men's tennis team (3-5, 3-5 B1G) fell to Wisconsin (3-6, 3-5 B1G) in the Nielsen Tennis Center on Friday by a score of 6-1.
"Tough travel conditions put us in very late last night with little time to prepare," associate head coach Paul Tobin said. "Losing the doubles point was a huge let down considering we had a 5-2 lead at No. 3, the double match point on the deciding court. I feel our momentum and energy would have translated into singles."
DOUBLES
The doubles match came down to the wire on courts one and three, but Wisconsin finished strong to take the point.
At the No. 1 spot, Tim Ruetzel (Munich, Germany) and Charl Morgan (Johannesburg, South Africa) fought back from a 5-1 deficit, but ultimately fell to Tim Dzhurinskiy and Gabriel Huber in a 7-6 tiebreak.
On court two, No. 40 Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) put away Jared Pratt and Robin Parts 6-3 to capture their first win of the season as doubles partners.
The Badgers' duo of Lenard Soha and Freimuth defeated Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) and Sam Bossem (Wimborne Minster, United Kingdom) by a score of 7-5.
SINGLES
The Badgers kept the momentum in singles play, winning at No. 1, 2 and 6 in straight sets to clinch the match at 4-0 before Tim Ruetzel recorded a score for the Nittany Lions.
At No. 5, Tim Ruetzel extended his singles winning streak to five as he swept Jesper Freimuth 6-4, 6-3.
Upon losing the first set at No. 4, Christos Antonopoulos came back to win the second against Robin Parts, but fell 6-4 in the final set.
Freshman Miko Eala (Philippines/Manacor, Spain) battled Wisconsin's Jared Pratt to the end, but came up short 7-6 in straight sets.
UP NEXT
Penn State will look to bounce back at No. 45 Minnesota on Sunday, March 21. The first serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET.
RESULTS
Wisconsin 6, Penn State 1
Doubles results:
1. Tim Dzhurinskiy/Gabriel Huber (WIS) def. Tim Ruetzel/Charl Morgan (PSU) 7-6 (7-3)
2. Christian Lakoseljac/Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Jared Pratt/Robin Parts (WIS) 6-3
3. Lenard Soha/Jesper Freimuth (WIS) def. Alp Sentay/Sam Bossem (PSU) 7-5
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles results:
1. Gabriel Huber (WIS) def. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Lenard Soha (WIS) def. Bora Sengul (PSU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Jared Pratt (WIS) def. Miko Eala (PSU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4)
4. Robin Parts (WIS) def. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
5. Tim Ruetzel (PSU) def. Jesper Freimuth (WIS) 6-4, 6-3
6. Mihailo Popovic (WIS) def. Charl Morgan (PSU) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 6, 2, 5, 4, 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.