TEMPE, Ariz. – The Penn State men's tennis team (7-7) dropped a 4-3 contest to Tulane in Tempe on Sunday afternoon. The Nittany Lions earned sixth place at the Spring Break Tournament hosted by Arizona State.
"We are battling hard and unfortunately; we are coming up short!" said head coach Jeff Zinn. "All we can do is put ourselves in these positions to be successful. I thought we played really well in doubles today and came up one match short in the singles portion of the match. We have a slight break now and hopefully we can recharge our batteries and come back stronger in the Big Ten portion of our schedule.
"This was a very tough loss; I don't think we could've put ourselves in a better position to win," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "Picking up the doubles point was huge, and we took the first sets on four courts in singles. We had several match points that would've given us the win; just unable to close it out. I know the guys are working hard, it's the responsibility of all of us to get the job done. It's frustrating, but we have to regroup and now focus on our Big Ten schedule."
DOUBLES
Penn State earned the doubles point with wins on courts one and three.
Malik Bhatnagar and Charl Morgan collected their second win as partners in a 6-3 decision over Tulane's Charlie Barry and Benji Jacobson. On court three, Alexander Karman and Sam Bossem defeated Rafael de Alba and Alex Bancila to clinch the point 6-3.
At No. 2, Chikaya Sato and Bora Sengul lost to Luc Hoeijmans and Fynn Kuenkler 6-3.
SINGLES
The Green Wave were able to rebound on singles, winning courts one, two, five, and six to clinch the match.
At No. 2, Eala won his fifth singles match of the season in a decisive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Tulane's Hoeijmans. On court four, Loren Byers defeated de Alba 7-6 (3), 6-3 to earn Penn State's final point of the match.
RESULTS
Tulane 4, Penn State 3
Doubles Results
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Malik Bhatnagar/Charl Morgan (PSU) def. Charlie Barry/Benji Jacobson (TU) 6-3
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Luc Hoeijmans/Fynn Kuenkler (TU) def. Chikaya Sato/Bora Sengul (PSU) 6-1
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Alexander Karman/Sam Bossem (PSU) def. Rafael de Alba/Alex Bancila (TU) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles Results
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Fynn Kuenkler (TU) def. Malik Bhatnagar (PSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
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Miko Eala (PSU) def. Luc Hoeijmans (TU) 6-1, 6-2
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Luka Petrovic (TU) def. Bora Sengul (PSU) 6-3, 6-1
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Loren Byers (PSU) def. Rafael de Alba (TU) 7-6 (3), 6-3
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Alex Bancila (TU) def. Sam Bossem (PSU) 7-6 (12), 6-4, 6-0
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Charlie Barry (TU) def. Charl Morgan (PSU) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 4, 6, 5, 1
UP NEXT
Penn State will return to University Park for its Big Ten season opener against Northwestern on Friday, March 25 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
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.