UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-- The Penn State men's tennis team (8-9) fell to No. 52 Illinois, 4-0, before downing Mount St. Mary's (3-7) in convincing fashion, 7-0.
"Overall, I am glad we came along with a split today. It's tough when I do not feel we played as well as we did on Friday against a defending Big Ten winning team like Illinois," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "It is tough to start 0-2 in Big Ten play, but the guys are very resilient and can bounce back."
"Losing 4-3 to #20 ranked Northwestern on Friday was difficult all around and I think that disappointment carried into today's match against Illinois," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "For whatever reason, the guys couldn't pull it together and generate any momentum. Charl and Malik did pull off an incredible win at #1 doubles, upsetting a top ranked duo. We've had so many close matches against high ranked teams, we just have to stay the course and not let ourselves get discouraged. There's still plenty of matches left."
Illinois
DOUBLES
Illinois earned the doubles point by securing wins on courts two and three.
On court one, Malik Bhatnagar and Charl Morgan felled the No. 50 ranked duo, Hunter Heck and Lucas Horve of Illinois, 6-2.
Chikaya Sato and Bora Sengul lost to partners Alex Brown and Gabrielus Guzauskas of Illinois in a hard-fought 6-4 match. At No. 3, Alexander Karman and Sam Bossem were bested by No. 61 ranked partners Siphosothando Montsi and Olivier Stuart.
SINGLES
The Fighting Illini won courts one, three, and four to clinch the sweep.
At No. 3, Sengul dropped a 6-3, 6-3 match to No. 96 Hunter Heck. Bhatnagar fell to Illinois' Montsi 6-3, 6-2.
Court two's match was left unfinished where Miko Eala battled No. 62 Olivier Stuart. Stuart took the first set 6-4 and led the second 4-3.
RESULTS
Illinois 4, Penn State 0
Doubles Results
1. Malik Bhatnagar/Charl Morgan (PSU) def. #50 Lucas Horve/Hunter Heck (ILL) 6-2
2. Alex Brown/Gabrielus Guzauskas (ILL) def. Chikaya Sato/Bora Sengul (PSU) 6-4
3. #61 Olivier Stuart/Siphosothando Montsi (ILL) def. Sam Bossem/Alexander Karman (PSU) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles Results
1. Siphosothando Montsi (ILL) def. Malik Bhatnagar (PSU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Miko Eala (PSU) vs. #62 Olivier Stuart (ILL) 4-6, 3-4, unfinished
3. #96 Hunter Heck (ILL) def. Bora Sengul (PSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Alex Brown (ILL) def. Loren Byers (PSU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Gabrielus Guzauskas (ILL) vs. Sam Bossem (PSU) no result
6. Nic Meister (ILL) vs. Charl Morgan (PSU) no result
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 4
MOUNT SAINT MARY'S
DOUBLES
Penn State took an early lead, securing the doubles point with wins on courts one and two.
Harrison Janes and Ondrej Ctverak defeated Russel Armstrong and Christos Dagklis 6-3 on court two.
At No. 3, Arjun Mariyappa and Andrei Paduraru fell to Marcel Cronin and Filippos Zachiotis, 6-4.
Charl Morgan and Miko Eala's win on court one decided the doubles point. The duo defeated the Mount's Elliot Stevens and Giovanni Abriola, 7-6.
SINGLES
Penn State swept singles play to clinch the match, 7-0.
On court one, Sam Bossem defeated Stevens in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. Alexander Karman downed Marcel Cronin 6-0, 6-2 to secure the Nittany Lion's third point of the match. Morgan's 6-3, 6-2 win over Zachiotis secured the victory for Penn State over Mount Saint Mary's. At No.3, Ismail Saadi bested Abriola, 4-6, 6-4 (10).
Penn State grabbed wins on courts five and six to continue their shutout streak. Ctverak defeated Nick Huynh 6-0, 6-2, while Janes took down Pablo Martinez Zuccardi straight sets 6-1, 6-1.
RESULTS
Penn State 7, Mount St. Mary's 0
Doubles
1. Charl Morgan/Miko Eala (PSU) def. Elliot Stevens/Giovanni Abriola(MOUNT) 7-6 (7-3)
2. Harrison Janes/Ondrej Ctverak (PSU) def. Russell Armstrong/Christos Dagklis (MOUNT) 6-3
3. Marcel Cronin/Filippos Zachiotis (MOUNT) def. Arjun Mariyappa/Andrei Paduraru (PSU) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Sam Bossem (PSU) def. Elliot Stevens (MOUNT) 6-0, 6-1
2. Charl Morgan (PSU) def. Fillipppos Zachiotis (MOUNT) 6-3, 6-2
3. Ismail Saadi (PSU) def. Giovanni Abriola (MOUNT) 4-6, 6-4, 10-4
4. Alexander Karman (PSU) def. Marcel Cronin (MOUNT) 6-0, 6-2
5. Ondrej Ctverak (PSU) def. Nick Huynh (MOUNT) 6-0, 6-2
6. Harrison Janes (PSU) def. Pablo Martinez Zuccardi (MOUNT) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 2, 3, 5, 6
UP NEXT
Penn State will travel to Purdue on Friday, April 1 to face off against the Boilermakers at 2:00 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.