March 29, 2013
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Penn State men's tennis team earned their first Big Ten win of the season on Friday, defeating Iowa 4-3. The Nittany Lions swept in four singles wins to clinch the match before the doubles portion began. Penn State also got a doubles win. Penn State improved to 7-10 this spring and 1-3 in the Big Ten. Iowa dropped to 7-8 on the year, 0-3 in the Big Ten.
After a disappointing weekend last week, Head Coach Jeff Zinn was happy to see his team respond. He was happy about the performance of multiple players today.
"It was good for Matt Barry to get the clinching match. That was the first time that he clinched the match for us in Big Ten play," said Zinn. "Tomas (Hanzlik) played really well today. Russell (Bader) has been on a hot streak lately and that continued today. Roman (Trkulja) probably played his best match of the spring."
Freshman Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) earned a 6-0, 7-5 sweep against Andres Estenssoro to claim the fourth and clinching point for Penn State.
Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) got the Nittany Lions on the board with a 6-1, 6-3 sweep of Garrett Dunn in number two singles.
Junior Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) competed in the third spot of the lineup, knocking off Matt Hagan 6-4, 6-2. Bader extended his win streak to four matches and earned his 12th win of the spring.
Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) also earned a sweep at the number four singles spot. Trkulja won 7-5, 6-1 against Juan Estenssoro for Penn State's third point of the day.
Senior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) won his first set 6-1 against Jonas Dierckx, but dropped his second set 6-4. Dierckx won the third set 6-3 to win the match.
Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) competed in the fifth singles spot, but fell 6-1, 6-2 against Dominic Patrick.
Penn State shook up the doubles lineup and had close results in all three matches. The Nittany Lions were unable to pick up the doubles point, but did get one doubles win.
In the third doubles spot, Bader and Barry combined for an 8-6 victory over Michael Swank and Joey White.
Young and Guanhua Chen (DaLian, China) paired up in the first doubles spot, but dropped an 8-6 match against Dunn and Hagan. Trkulja and Welnetz also combined, but also fell 8-6 against Dierckx and Juan Estenssoro.
In addition to being the Nittany Lions' first Big Ten win of the spring, it was also their third road win.
"Any time you beat a Big Ten team on the road is good and it's good momentum heading into our match against Nebraska," said Coach Zinn.
Penn State will travel to Lincoln on Sunday for a Noon ET match against #57 Nebraska.
Doubles:
1. Dunn/Hagan(Iowa) def. Chen/Young(PSU), 8-6
2. Dierckx/Estensorro(Iowa) def. Trkulja/Welnetz(PSU), 8-6
3. Bader/Barry(PSU) def. Swank/White(Iowa), 8-6
Order of Finish: 2,1,3
Singles:
1. Jonas Dierckx(Iowa) def. Bryan Welnetz(PSU), 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Garrett Dunn(Iowa), 6-1, 6-3
3. Russell Bader(PSU) def. Matt Hagan(Iowa), 6-4, 6-2
4. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. Juan Estenssoro(Iowa), 7-5, 6-1
5. Dominic Patrick(Iowa) def. Chris Young(PSU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Andres Estenssoro(Iowa), 6-0, 7-5
Order of Finish: 2,3,4,1,5,6