EVANSTON, Ill. - The Penn State men's tennis team is moving on to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The squad defeated Purdue, 4-3, in a close, but strongly played match on Thursday.
Penn State will face No. 1 Ohio State on Friday, April 26 at 10 a.m. at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill.
Visit GoPSUsports.com for more updates on the Nittany Lions' season. Follow the team on Instagram @pennstatemtennis and on X @pennstateMTEN for more updates.
DOUBLES
On court No. 1, Stefan Simeunovic and Jack Martuccio paired up to take on Juan David Velasquez and Daniel Labrador, but fell 6-4. At No. 2, Ari Cotoulas and Alex Sterin dropped their match, 6-3, against Purdue's Stefan Simeunovic and Henrik Villanger.
Miko Eala and Nolan ranger were leading 5-3 on court No. 3 against Soham Purohit and Mujtaba Ali-Khan, but the match went unfinished as the doubles point had already been claimed by Purdue.
SINGLES
At the top spot, Eala, ranked 83rd in the nation, won his match against Simeunovic, 6-3, 7-6. It was Eala's 11th dual match win of the season and his 10th at No. 1.
Martuccio played in at No. 5, claiming the 7-5, 6-4 victory over Labrador. He picked up his fourth singles win of the Spring.
On court No. 6, Sterin defeated Ali-Khan 6-2, 6-4, for his fourth dual-match win this year.
It all came down to Ranger, who took court No. 3, against Villanger. The match went into a third set, with Ranger ultimately pulling away the victory, winning 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, and clinching the win for the Nittany Lions.
On court No. 2 Simeunovic dropped his match 6-2, 6-3 to Purohit. At No. 4, Cotoulas went into a third set against Velasquez, but fell 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Velasquez/Labrador (PUR) def. Simeunovic/Martuccio (PSU), 6-4
2. Simeunovic/Villanger (PUR) def. Cotoulas/Sterin (PSU), 6-3
3. Eala/Ranger (PSU) vs. Purohit/Ali-Khan (PUR), 5-3, uf.
Order of Finish: 2,1
Singles
1. Eala (PSU) def. Simeunovic (PUR), 6-3, 7-6
2. Purohit (PUR) def. Simeunovic (PSU), 6-2, 6-3
3. Ranger (PSU) vs. Villanger (PUR), 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
4. Velasquez (PUR) def. Cotoulas (PSU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Martuccio (PSU) def. Labrador (PUR), 7-5, 6-4
6. Sterin (PSU) def. Ali-Khan (PUR), 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,6,4,5,1,3