CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Penn State men's tennis team (13-5) dropped a 4-0 road match to No. 21 Illinois (13-7) in the Atkins Tennis Center on Friday night.
"Taking on Illinois inside at their place is not easy unless we play outside our comfort zone, first strike and close points well inside the baseline," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "Miko Eala did a great job of getting this done, and it's the reason why he stayed ahead. Illinois is one of the best prepared teams and Coach Dancer does a great job of creating that culture."
DOUBLES
Illinois secured the doubles point with victories on courts one and two.
Malik Bhatnagar and Charl Morgan fell to the No. 33 doubles pairing Hunter Heck and Karl Ozolins 6-3 before Sam Bossem and Loren Byers were defeated 6-2 by No. 56 Mathis Debru and Oliver Okonkwo.
Miko Eala and Stefan Simeunovic went 2-5, unfinished across from Alex Petrov and Kenta Miyoshi.
SINGLES
The Illini took courts one, two, five, and six to clinch the match over the Nittany Lions.
Bhatnagar fell to Nic Meister 6-2, 6-1 before No. 33 Karl Ozolins defeated Morgan 6-1, 6-4 on court one to finish second. The Illini completed the sweep in a 6-2, 6-4 decision in which Simeunovic lost to Okonkwo.
Byers, Eala, and Bossem went unfinished on courts two, three, and four.
RESULTS
Illinois 4, Penn State 0
Doubles Results
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#49 Hunter Heck/Karl Ozolins (ILL) def. Malik Bhatnagar/Charl Morgan (PSU) 6-3
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#56 Mathis Debru/Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) def. Loren Byers/Sam Bossem (PSU) 6-2
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Miko Eala/Stefan Simeunovic (PSU) vs. Alex Petrov/Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) 2-5, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles Results
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#33 Karl Ozolins (ILL) def. Charl Morgan (PSU) 6-1, 6-4
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Loren Byers (PSU) vs. #115 Alex Petrov (ILL) 6-0, 5-2, unfinished
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Miko Eala (PSU) vs. Hunter Heck (ILL) 6-3, 4-1, unfinshed
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Sam Bossem (PSU) vs. William Mroz (ILL) 6-2, 2-3, unfinished
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Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) def. Stefan Simeunovic (PSU) 6-2, 6-4
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Nic Meister (ILL) def. Malik Bhatnagar (PSU) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 1, 5
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions face the No. 23 Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, Ill. on Sunday, 26 at 11:30 a.m. ET to continue B1G action.
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.