UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's tennis team (9-1) swept four straight singles courts to earn a 5-0 sweep over William & Mary (2-3) at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon.
"Wow, what a great weekend! We played two terrific matches, both Friday evening and today on Sunday afternoon," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "William and Mary is such a quality team. They have a new lineup that they played against us today with a tremendous player coming off an injury. But I think today we battled. We wanted to come out strong in doubles and we really did. We came out with energy and fire. The leadership of the team really pushed each other to get that first point. That's been critical for our success this year. And moving forward, we still have to do that. We have a break coming up. Through the first 10 matches, we are 9-1. We are going to take a little break, let the guy's body heal, and then come back strong."
DOUBLES
The Nittany Lions secured the doubles point on courts one and three.
Malik Bhatnagar and Charl Morgan defeated George Davis and Bill Duo 6-1 at No. 1 to earn their eighth doubles win of the season. Miko Eala and Stefan Simeunovic followed up with a 6-2 victory over Alexander Karman and Daniel Pellerito to go 5-0 in doubles.
Sam Bossem and Loren Byers went 5-2, unfinished on No. 2 versus Joeseph Brailovsky and Andres Silva.
SINGLES
Penn State took four straight courts to collect the win.
Eala finished first, taking down the Tribe's Andres Silva in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 for a 9-1 singles record. Bossem earned the Nittany Lions their third point of the match in a 7-5, 6-1 decision on No. 4.
Byers clinched the match on court two when he defeated Joseph Brailovsky 7-6(5), 6-4. Morgan closed out singles play with a 7-6(6), 7-6(2) decision on court one.
Bhatnagar and Simeunovic's matches were left unfinished.
RESULTS
Penn State 5, William & Mary 0
Doubles Results
-
Malik Bhatnagar/Charl Morgan (PSU) def. George Davis/Bill Duo (WM) 6-1
-
Sam Bossem/Loren Byers (PSU) vs. Joseph Brailovsky/Andres Silva (WM) 5-2, unfinished
-
Miko Eala/Stefan Simeunovic (PSU) def. Alexander Karman/Daniel Pellerito (WM) 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles Results
-
Charl Morgan (PSU) def. George Davis (WM) 7-6(6), 7-6(2)
-
Loren Byers (PSU) def. Joseph Brailovsky (WM) 7-6(5), 6-4
-
Miko Eala (PSU) def. Andres Silva (WM) 6-3, 6-4
-
Sam Bossem (PSU) def. Bill Duo (WM) 7-5, 6-1
-
Malik Bhatnagar (PSU) vs. Sean Jospeh (WM) 4-1, unfinished
-
Stefan Simeunovic (PSU) vs.Daniel Pellerito (WM) 4-1, unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 4, 2, 1
"The guys stepped up today and got us a solid win against a very well-coached team," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "Our confidence in doubles is evident and that is helping us keep the momentum into singles. I am very proud of the guys, they are listening and playing good indoor tennis."
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will finish out their 11-match home stand against St. John's on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 5 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.