UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's tennis team (13-11, 3-4 B1G) split their doubleheader on Sunday. The Nittany Lions dropped a match to the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines, 7-0, before winning their Senior Day matchup against the JMU Dukes, 5-2.
"It's always good to finish with a W," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "That being said, I didn't feel we played the way we needed to play against a top-10 team in the first match of the day. Hats off to Michigan, they are well coached all the way down. They don't give you an inch. And again, when we have opportunities, we have to take advantage of them, and we didn't take advantage of the opportunities that we had in the match against Michigan. I wanted everybody to play, that's why we played it out. But we thought we could sneak out some matches at the at the bottom and we came up close. I thought Loren Byers played really well today. But everybody needs to play well. So hopefully, we can use this match. A really good James Madison team, a team that has had a terrific year. It's good that we were a little tired, but we battled hard, and I thought we played well. They made us play well. They're a good team. Hopefully, we will use that momentum that we got in the second match in the upcoming weekend. It's a big weekend, there's a lot of seeding on the line in the Big Ten. We know what we have to do. Those teams know what they have to do. So, it'll be a good tennis weekend."
If you're going to beat a top-ranked team, you need to bring your "A" game and take higher risks on shorter balls," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "Michigan brings so much energy on the courts and they drown out any background noise. That only works when you can back it up with the type of aggressive play on every point, it worked today against us. We were hoping to play them outside which would minimize their power and reduce free points on serves."
MICHIGAN 7, PENN STATE 0
DOUBLES
Victories on courts one and two saw the Michigan Wolverines earn the first point of the match.
On court two, Miko Eala and Bora Sengul fell to Patrick Maloney and Nick Beaty in a 6-0 result. Michigan clinched the doubles point on court one when the No. 23 doubles ranked pair Nino Ehrenschneider and Andrew Fenty defeated Malik Bhatnagar and Charl Morgan, 6-2.
At No. 3, Sam Bossem and Loren Byers held a 5-2 lead opposite Ondrej Styler and Will Cooksey before the Wolverines secured the point. The match was left unfinished.
SINGLES
Michigan won the dual match by sweeping singles play.
On court two, Michigan's Patrick Maloney defeated Bora Sengul in a 6-2, 6-4 decision to earn the Wolverines a clinch.
The two teams played out the remaining three matches.
RESULTS
Michigan 7, Penn State 0
Doubles Results
-
#23 Nino Ehrenschneider/Andrew Fenty (MICH) def. Malik Bhatnagar/Charl Morgan (PSU) 6-2
-
Patrick Maloney/Nick Beaty (MICH) def. Miko Eala/Bora Sengul (PSU) 6-0
-
Loren Byers/Sam Bossem (PSU) vs. Ondrej Styler/Will Cooksley (MICH) 5-2, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles Results
-
#25 Ondrej Styler (MICH) def. Miko Eala (PSU) 6-1, 6-4
-
Patrick Maloney (MICH) def. Bora Sengul (PSU) 6-2, 6-4
-
#83 Gavin Young (MICH) def. Sam Bossem (PSU) 6-3, 6-3
-
#46 Jakob Bickersteth (MICH) def. Loren Byers (PSU) 6-3, 6-7, 10-4
-
#104 Nino Ehrenschneider (MICH) def. Charl Morgan (PSU) 6-2, 7-6
-
Patorn Hanchaikul (MICH) def. Chikaya Sato (PSU) 7-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6
PENN STATE 5, JMU 2
DOUBLES
The JMU Dukes earned the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.
Finishing first, partners Miko Eala and Bora Sengul grabbed Penn State's only doubles win over JMU's Youssef Sadek and Holden Koons in a 6-1 victory.
On court three, Harrison Janes and Alexander Karman fell to Oscar Hernandez and William Karpinski, 6-4. Mathieu Josserand and Edson Sanchez clinched the point for the Dukes on court two in a 6-4 decision over Sam Bossem and Loren Byers.
SINGLES
The Nittany Lions rebounded in singles play, winning five courts to take the match.
At No. 3, Bossem cruised past Sadek to a 6-3, 6-3 victory. Following quickly, Sengul took down Karpinski in a 6-4, 6-2 decision. Eala defeated Koons 6-3, 7-6 on court one, before Byers bested Hernandez in a 6-1, 6-2 result to clinch the match for Penn State at No. 5.
Charl Morgan secured the Nittany Lion's final point of the day in a 6-4, 6-4 victory over JMU's Josserand.
RESULTS
Penn State 5, JMU 2
Doubles Results
-
Miko Eala/Bora Sengul (PSU) def. Youssef Sadek/Holden Koons (JMU) 6-1
-
Mathieu Josserand/Edson Sanchez (JMU) def. Sam Bossem/Loren Byers (PSU) 6-4
-
Oscar Hernandez/William Karpinski (JMU) def. Harrison Janes/Alexander Karman (PSU) 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles Results
-
Miko Eala (PSU) def. Holden Koons (JMU) 6-3, 7-6
-
Bora Sengul (PSU) def. William Karpinski (JMU) 6-3, 6-3
-
Sam Bossem (PSU) def. Youssef Sadek (JMU) 6-4, 6-2
-
Edson Sanchez (JMU) def. Malik Bhatnagar (PSU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
-
Loren Byers (PSU) def. Oscar Hernandez (JMU) 6-1, 6-2
-
Charl Morgan (PSU) def. Mathieu Josserand (JMU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions travel to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers on Friday, April 22 before heading to Wisconsin to face off against the Badgers on Sunday, April 24 in their last regular season matchup.
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.