PHILADELPHIA – The Penn State men's tennis team (6-4) fell to Penn, 4-0, at the Hecht Tennis Center in Philadelphia on Saturday.
"The score is quite deceiving because we were very close to winning this match on the road," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "When the match was clinched we were winning the other three singles matches that were suspended. It basically came down to the doubles point which is going to be the theme this year for our team. We won at #2 doubles and were up at #1 doubles 4-1. Unfortunately the Penn team came back and beat us in a tiebreaker at #1 doubles. We know we are close but we aren't into 'moral victories' at this point. We need to figure out how to win these close matches and I know we will. These matches are getting us ready for the Big Ten season and the difficult road we have ahead. We have one more match in our indoor season and then slowly transition to our outdoor season which will be the true test of how far we can go this season not only in the Big Ten but in the postseason."
"Overall, some guys did well, but we did have some matches where we can do a lot better," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "We had opportunity in doubles, Alexander Karman and Malik Bhatnagar were up 4-1 than let the lead slide; they struggled in the tiebreak. Miko Eala, Sam Bossem and Bora Sengul were off to a strong start taking 1st sets, but they never got to finish once the match was decided. We have to keep working to improve every day. We have to be uncomfortable getting aggressive when we are struggling in the back court."
DOUBLES
Penn secured the doubles point with wins on court one and three.
Chikaya Sato and Bora Sengul collected the lone doubles win with a 7-6 victory over Penn's Harsh Parikh and Kevin Zhu.
Malik Bhatnagar and Alexander Karman fell to Edoardo Graziani and Jason Hildebrandt in a 7-6 decision. On court three, Miko Eala and Charl Morgan lost to Baylor Sai and Aditya Gupta 6-3.
SINGLES
The Quakers won on courts one, two, and five to clinch their win.
RESULTS
Penn 4, Penn State 0
Doubles Results
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Edoardo Graziani/Jason Hildebrandt (PENN) def. Malik Bhatnagar/Alexander Karman (PSU) 7-6
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Chikaya Sato/Bora Sengul (PSU) def. Harsh Parikh/Kevin Zhu (PENN) 7-6
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Baylor Sai/Aditya Gupta (PENN) def. Miko Eala/Charl Morgan (PSU) 6-3
Singles Results
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Edoardo Graziani (PENN) def. Malik Bhatnagar (PSU), 6-2, 6-0
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Jason Hildebrandt (PENN) def. Chikaya Sato (PSU), 6-1, 6-1
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Miko Eala (PSU) vs. Aditya Gupta (PENN), 6-6, unfinished
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Bora Sengul (PSU) vs. Kevin Zhu (PENN), 7-6, 2-1, unfinished
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Harsh Parikh (PENN) def. Loren Byers (PSU), 6-3, 6-2
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Sam Bossem (PSU) vs. Baylor Sai (PENN), 6-4, 2-2, unfinished
UP NEXT
Penn State will travel to New York City to face off against Columbia on Saturday, March 5.
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.