UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's tennis team (9-1) finishes out its 11-match home stand against the St. John's Red Storm (9-1) on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. ET. The Nittany Lions will then travel to Lynchburg, Va. to face Liberty on Friday, Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. ET and then compete on neutral court versus the South Florida Bulls (4-7) on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions entered the rankings at No. 46 announced the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Tuesday morning.
Penn State is coming off a bye week, after collecting two wins against Princeton on. Feb. 10 and William & Mary on Feb. 12. Taking on the Tigers, Penn State clinched the doubles point before taking the first three courts. Charl Morgan won the match for the Nittany Lions in a 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win.
On Feb. 12, the Blue & White downed the Tribe in a 5-0 sweep. Penn State's 10th doubles point of the season gave them the early advantage. Sweeping four straight courts, Loren Byers collected the clinch in a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Joseph Brailovsky.
SCOUTING THE RED STORM
St. John's is 9-1 on the spring season. Cornell handed the Red Storm their only loss in a 52 defeat on Jan. 29. They are coming off a 5-2 win over Boston University on Feb. 18 before heading into this matchup against the Nittany Lions.
The Red Storm is 0-2 all-time against Penn State. The Nittany Lions last win came in 2014 and featured a 7-0 sweep in Happy Valley.
PREVIEWING THE FLAMES
Liberty is 3-5 coming into this weekend matchup against Penn State. The Flames are coming two straight 5-2 losses at home to Clemson and VCU.
In two recorded matches between Penn State and Liberty, the two programs split the record aat 1-1. The Nittany Lions came away with the most recent 4-3 win in 2022 at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Miko Eala clinched the match for Penn State in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Deji Thomas-Smith and Byers collected his fifth straight singles win of the season. The Blue & White look to take the series lead on Friday.
A LOOK INTO THE BULLS
South Florida holds a 4-7 record during the 2023 campaign and is 1-2 on neutral ground. The Bulls are currently on a three-match losing streak that started with a 7-0 sweep by then-ranked N0. 21 MTSU. They will face VCU on the road, before traveling up to Lynchburg, Va. to take on the Nittany Lions and Liberty this upcomign weekend.
This matchup marks the ninth time the Nittany Lions and South Florida Bulls will face off on the court. Their last encounter came during the 2018-18 season and saw Penn State earning the 4-2 victory. After earning the doubles point with victories on court one and three, Penn State went on to win the back four courts.
UP NEXT
Penn State will play Bryant in Hanover, N.H. on Saturday, March 4 at 1 p.m. ET, before taking on Dartmouth at 10 a.m. on Sunday, 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.