MADISON, Wis. -The Penn State men's tennis team wrapped up its fall season at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend. Senior Miko Eala highlighted the weekend, reaching the singles final.
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SINGLES
Senior Miko Eala dominated the singles bracket, advancing to the final round.
Eala was granted a first round bye in the East singles bracket. He won his match in the Round of 32 in a 6-1,6-4 decision against Northwestern's Chad Miller. He carried on to defeat Nebraska's Nikolay Sysoev in the Round of 16 in a 6-1,6-4 victory. Eala continued his winning ways in his Quarterfinals match against Nebraska's Lars Johann, 6-1, 7-5.
The senior won a close match 7-5, 4-6, 10-5 against Nebraska's Shunya Maruyama. The win secured Eala a spot in the Finals where he faced Nebraska's Calvin Mueller. Eala dropped the match, 6-3, 6-2, but concluded a strong weekend.
"As a team, we have played a ton of matches since Thursday. It was a great experience, especially for our young guys against quality competition," said head coach Jeff Zinn, "I'm proud of Miko Eala getting to the finals where he played a great match, but ultimately came up short. It's hard to play at this level and keep up stamina through the whole tournament but he did a great job battling through the final."
Along with Eala in the singles brackets, five others represented the Nittany Lions. In the East bracket, Loren Byers, Harrison Janes, Jack Martuccio, Nolan Ranger and Alexander Sterin entered the draw in the Round of 64.
After being granted a first round bye, Byers won his Round of 32 match against Michigan State's Josh Portnoy, 6-1, 6-1. In a tight battle in the Round of 16, Byers fell 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 against Michigan's Bjorn Swenson.
Janes, Martuccio, Ranger and Sterin dropped their first round matches, but Janes and Ranger bounced back to earn wins in the West bracket. Sterin picked up a consolation match win due to his opponent retiring.
DOUBLES
In the East bracket, three Nittany Lion pairs competed.
Janes and Martuccio earned the win in their first matchup against Indiana's Andrew Meier and Deacon Thomas, 7-5, but dropped their second round match, 6-3, against Michigan's Bjorn Swenson and Alex Craig.
Byers and Eala paired together to defeat Michigan's Nicholas Steiglehner and Will Cooksey in a 6-4 match. The pair fell 6-4 against Northwestern's Saiprakash Goli and Jackson Caldwell. In consolation action, the duo dropped a 7-5 decision against Northwestern's Chad Miller and Greyson Casey.
Sterin and Ranger dropped their first match to Ohio State's Reece Yakubov and Michigan State's Josh Portnoy, 6-4.
In the West bracket, Sterin and Ranger fell against Indiana's Ekansh Kumar and Luc Boulier in a tough 7-6(4) set. In the Southwest bracket, the pair fell to Michigan State's Graydon Lair and Luke Baylis, 6-3.
Janes and Martuccio partnered in the North bracket, but dropped their match to Nebraska's Lars Johann and Calvin Mueller, 6-1. The pair also competed in the Northwest bracket, but fell to Michigan's Nicholas Steiglehner and Will Cooksey, 6-2.
RESULTS
SINGLES
East Bracket
Round of 64
Steiglehner, Nicholas (UM) def. Ranger, Nolan (PSU), 6-3, 6-4.
Megargee, Owen (NW) def. Martuccio, Jack (PSU), 7-5, 6-3.
Saylor, Jagger (IU) def. Janes, Harrison (PSU), 6-3, 4-6, 10-3.
Zlatohlavek, Tomas (UW) def. Sterin, Alexander (PSU), 6-2, 6-1.
Round of 32
Eala, Miko (PSU) def. Miller, Chad (NW), 6-1, 6-4.
Byers, Loren (PSU) def. Portnoy, Josh (MSU), 6-1, 6-1.
Round of 16
Eala, Miko (PSU) def. Sysoev, Nikolay (NEB) 6-1, 6-4.
Swenson, Bjorn (UM) def. Byers, Loren (PSU), 6-4, 6-7(8), 10-7.
Quarterfinals
Eala, Miko (PSU) def. Johann, Lars (NEB), 6-1, 7-5.
Semifinals
Eala, Miko (PSU) def. Maruyama, Shuyana (NEB), 7-5, 4-6, 10-5.
Finals
Mueller, Calvin (NEB) def. Eala, Miko (PSU), 6-3, 6-2.
Consolation
Ranger, Nolan (PSU) def. Boulier, Luc (IU), 3-6, 7-5, 11-9.
Janes, Harrison (PSU) def. Lair, Graydon (MSU), Retired.
Casey, Greyson (NW) def. Sterin, Alexander (PSU), 6-1, 6-2.
Fullerton, Matthew (UW) def. Byers, Loren (PSU), 6-4, 6-4.
Sterin, Alexander (PSU def. Lair, Graydon (MSU), Retired.
Ranger, Nolan (PSU) def. Meier, Andrew (IU), 6-1, 6-1.
Beduhn, Colin ((UW) def. Martuccio, Jack (PSU), 5-7, 6-3, 10-8.
Casey, Greyson (NW) def. Janes, Harrison (PSU), 5-7, 6-4, 10-8.
Hanchaikul, Patorn (UM) def. Ranger, Nolan (PSU), 6-3, 6-2.
DOUBLES
EAST
Round of 32
Yakubov, Reece (OSU)/ Portnoy, Josh (MSU) def. Sterin, Alexander/ Ranger, Nolan (PSU), 6-4.
Janes, Harrison/ Martuccio, Jack (PSU) def. Meier, Andrew/ Thomas, Deacon (IU), 7-5.
Round of 16
Swenson, Bjorn/ Craig, Alex (UM) def. Janes, Harrison/ Martuccio, Jack (PSU), 6-3.
Byers, Loren/ Eala, Miko (PSU) def. Steiglehner, Nicholas/ Cooksey, Will (UM), 6-4.
Quarterfinals
Goli, Saiprakash/ Caldwell, Jackson (NW) def. Byers, Loren/ Eala, Miko (PSU), 6-4.
Consolation
Kumar, Ekansh/ Boulier, Luc (IU) def. Sterin, Alexander/ Ranger, Nolan (PSU), 7-6(4).
Johann, Lars/ Mueller, Calvin (NEB) def. Janes, Harrison/ Martuccio, Jack (PSU), 6-1.
Miller, Chad/ Casey, Greyson (NW) def. Byers, Loren/ Eala, Miko (PSU), 7-5.
Steiglehner, Nicholas/ Cooksey, Will (UM) def. Janes, Harrison/ Martuccio, Jack (PSU), 6-2.
Lair, Graydon/ Baylis, Luke (MSU) def. Sterin, Alexander/ Ranger, Nolan (PSU), 6-3.