NORFOLK, Va. -- Penn State men's tennis dropped its first match of the spring season to Old Dominion Sunday evening at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center in Norfolk, Va. The Monarchs came out on top with a 5-2 win.
"I'm hoping that this match allowed us the opportunity to work out some of the kinks," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "You can only practice so much and now we really need a lot of match play, especially away. Some of the guys did really well and stepped up, some of the guys just were not feeling it today. I wish I knew the answer to that but we have to do a better job of communicating and then developing. I'm still very optimistic about our season, we have a lot of really talented players that just need confidence and that only comes from competing and winning."
DOUBLES
Old Dominion took doubles matches on courts one and two to clinch the first point of the match.
Miko Eala and Charl Morgan fell to Younes Lalami and Oliver Nolan in a 6-1 decision. On court two, Malik Bhatnagar and Sam Bossem lost to ODU partners Luca Maldoner and Codie Van Schalkwyk, 6-4.
With a comeback on court three, Chikaya Sato and Bora Sengul secured a 6-4 win in their doubles match against Francois Le Tellac and Yehven Sirious.
SINGLES
The Monarchs earned wins on courts one, three, four, and five to solidify their win.
Malik Bhatnagar registered his first win as a Nittany Lion, defeating #91 Younes Lalami 7-5, 6-2 on court two.
Loren Byers defeated Oliver Tobisch in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to capture his first career win.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions head to Ithaca, N.Y. to take on the Cornell Big Red on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. ET.
RESULTS
Old Dominion 5, Penn State 2
Doubles Results:
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Younes Lalami/Oliver Nolan (ODU) def. Charl Morgan/Miko Eala (PSU), 6-1
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Luca Maldoner/Codie Van Schalkwyk (ODU) def. Malik Bhatnagar/Sam Bossem (PSU), 6-4
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Chikaya Sato/Bora Sengul (PSU) def. Francois Le Tallec/Yehven Sirious (ODU), 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles Results:
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Luca Maldoner (ODU) def. Chikaya Sato (PSU), 6-3, 6-2
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Malik Bhatnagar (PSU) def. #91 Younes Lalami (ODU), 7-5, 6-2
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Yehven Sirious (ODU) def. Miko Eala (PSU), 6-1, 6-3
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Oliver Nolan (ODU) def. Charl Morgan (PSU), 3-6, 7-6, 10-5
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Codie Van Schalkywk (ODU) def. Bora Sengul, 6-3, 6-0
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Loren Byers (PSU) def. Oliver Tobisch (ODU), 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 5, 6, 2, 3, 4
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.