UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State men's tennis (4-6, 4-6 B1G) swept Iowa (4-8, 4-8 B1G) Friday evening in the Indoor Tennis Center by a final score of 7-0. The Nittany Lions remain perfect at home with a 3-0 record.
"This was probably our best match of the year," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "We really played well, great energy in doubles. I'm so proud of how all three doubles teams performed. In singles, it was a bounce back win for Christian at No. 1. Bora continues his hot streak and Miko played well at three. Great win for our senior captain Christos and Tim continues to keep doing what he's doing. Alp Sentay jumped in today and we figured that we needed some veteran leadership at No. 6. Overall, it was a perfect team win and exactly what the coaching staff was asking for."
"The guys pulled it together today," associate head coach Paul Tobin said. "Even though we had a disappointing loss last weekend to Minnesota, we knew our double teams were finally coming together and that helped today to take some pressure off singles. Good to be competing back in Happy Valley."
DOUBLES
The Nittany Lions took the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.
Remaining undefeated at 3-0 as a pair, Sam Bossem (Wimborne Minster, United Kingdom) and Miko Eala (Philippines/Manacor, Spain) secured a win on court three over Iowa's Joe Tyler and Peter Alam, 6-2.
At No. 2, the duo of Christian Lakoseljac (King City, Ontario, Canada) and Christos Antonopoulos (Athens, Greece) clinched the doubles point for the Nittany Lions, defeating Nikita Snezhko and Kareem Allaf, 6-3. Lakoseljac and Antonopoulos were victorious for their third-straight match.
Partners Tim Ruetzel (Munich, Germany) and Charl Morgan (Johannesburg, South Africa) tied the No. 6 pair in the nation in Oliver Okonkwo and Will Davies with a score of 4-4 in an unfinished match.
SINGLES
At the No. 1 slot, Christian Lakoseljac defeated Hawkeyes' Kareem Allaf in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead.
After falling short in the first set, Miko Eala battled back at No. 3 to pick up his sixth win in Big Ten play as he defeated Oliver Okonkwo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, pushing Penn State's lead to 3-0.
Christos Antonopoulos put away Iowa's Joe Tyler in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to clinch the match for the Nittany Lions.
Extending the score to 5-0, Bora Sengul (Denizli, Turkey) earned his second-straight win at No. 2 in a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 match against Hawekyes' Will Davies.
Tim Ruetzel extended his singles win streak to seven in a 6-3, 7-6 sweep over Jason Kerst.
On court six, Alp Sentay (Izmar, Turkey) brought the final score to 7-0 by beating Rudra Dixit 6-3, 6-3.
UP NEXT
Penn State welcomes Nebraska on Sunday, March 28 at noon.
RESULTS
Penn State 7, Iowa 0
Doubles results:
1. Tim Ruetzel/Charl Morgan (PSU) vs. #6 Oliver Okonkwo/Will Davies (IOWA) 4-4, unfinished
2. Christian Lakoseljac/Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Nikita Snezhko/Kareem Allaf (IOWA) 6-3
3. Sam Bossem/Miko Eala (PSU) def. Joe Tyler/Peter Alam (IOWA) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles results:
1. Christian Lakoseljac (PSU) def. Kareem Allaf (IOWA) 6-3, 6-4
2. Bora Sengul (PSU) def. Will Davies (IOWA)
3. Miko Eala (PSU) def. Oliver Okonkwo (IOWA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
4. Christos Antonopoulos (PSU) def. Joe Tyler (IOWA) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
5. Tim Ruetzel (PSU) def. Jason Kerst (IOWA)
6. Alp Sentay (PSU) def. Tundra Dixit (IOWA)
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 2, 5, 6
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.