Jan. 23, 2015
Saturday Live Stats
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) came back from down 3-1 in the deciding set of the match to help the No. 26 Penn State men's tennis team complete their comeback in a 4-3 victory against No. 19 Kentucky at the ITA Kickoff Weekend Event. The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point and trailed 3-0 in the match, but got wins at the No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 singles positions. Penn State will take on No. 20 South Florida in the winner's match at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The win marked the Nittany Lions' best over a ranked opponent to start the season. Knocking off No. 19 Kentucky topped a 4-3 win against No. 37 Virginia Tech in 2005. A win on Saturday would send the Nittany Lions to the National Men's Team Indoor Championships for the first time since 2008.
"Today was a great match for the team," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "We played amazing to come from down 3-0. We showed a lot of heart. I was most pleased that we won three three-setters to win the match."
Hanzlik, a senior, competed against Kentucky's Jake Stefanik at the No. 6 singles position. The senior dropped the first set, 6-3. In the second set, Hanzlik won a back-and-forth set, 6-4. In the final set, Stefanik took an early 2-0 lead and later a 3-1 lead, but Hanzlik won five straight points to clinch the set and the match, giving Penn State a 4-3 victory. Hanzlik improved to 7-5 this year and notched his 50th career victory.
Junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) matched up against the Wildcats' William Bushamuka at the third singles spot. The Toronto native claimed the first set, 6-4, but Bushamuka responded by winning the next set, 6-4. In the deciding set, Trkulja jumped out to a 4-1 lead to earn a 6-1 set win. Trkulja improved to 7-3 this year.
At the No. 4 singles position, junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) competed against Kevin Lai. The junior took the first set, 6-4, and then completed a straight-set victory with a 6-4 win in the second set. Barry moved to 5-3 overall.
In the first set at No. 5 singles, sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.), making his Nittany Lion dual match debut, rallied from down 5-3 to win the set, 7-5, against Trey Yates. In the next set, Yates jumped out to a 5-1 lead to claim a 6-2 set. In the third set, Laaribi held leads of 5-4 and 6-5, but Yates forced a tiebreaker. Laaribi never trailed in the tiebreaker, winning 7-6(1) in the set. Laaribi improved to 6-3 as a Nittany Lion. Laaribi's win brought the match score to 3-3.
"Roman came back and really started our momentum from down 3-0," said Zinn. "Tomas Hanzlik closed out the match, a tremendous match when the match was 3-all to win. Aws played amazing to tie the match at 3-all. Overall, it was an incredible team effort for everyone and now we have to recover and get ready for tomorrow afternoon."
Junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) met Kentucky's Beck Pennington, ranked 96th in the ITA Poll, at the top singles spot. However, Pennington picked up a straight set win, 6-3, 6-3. Stakhovsky fell to 1-5 this year.
Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) matched up against Jerry Lopez at the second spot in the lineup. In a back-and-forth opening set, Lopez came out on top, 6-4. He continued his momentum with a 6-2 win in the second set. Fennell dropped to 4-4 this year.
At the top doubles spot, senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) and Stakhovsky competed against the Wildcats' Lai and Pennington, but fell 6-2. The Nittany Lion pair dropped to 4-5 overall.
Penn State's No. 3 doubles team, Barry and Fennell, earned a victory, 6-1, against Nils Ellefsen and Yates. The duo improved to 4-2 this year.
In the deciding doubles point match at No. 2, Laaribi and Trkulja dropped a 6-2 result against the Wildcats' Bushamuka and Lopez, giving the Wildcats the point. Laaribi and Trkulja are now 5-4 overall.
"What a huge win for Penn State tennis," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "We came into this match prepared and felt we were the better team, on paper. At the end, it came down to heart. Kentucky is a great team and they had the edge with their slower courts, but our guys adjusted well. A great job by Tomas to clinch the win and great jobs by Aws, Roman and Matt. Very proud of what they did today. A big match tomorrow that could put us in the national indoors for the first time in seven years."
Please check back to GoPSUSports.com on Saturday for more coverage of Penn State men's tennis. Updates are also available on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.
Doubles:
1. Lai/Pennington(UK) def. Reilly/Stakhovsky(PSU), 6-2.
2. Bushamuka/Lopez(UK) def. Laaribi/Trkulja(PSU), 6-2.
3. Barry/Fennell(PSU) def. Ellefsen/Yates(UK), 6-1.
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
Singles:
1. #96 Beck Pennington(UK) def. Leonard Stakhovsky(PSU), 6-3, 6-3.
2. Jerry Lopez(UK) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-4, 6-2.
3. Roman Trkulja(PSU) def. William Bushamuka(UK), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.
4. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Kevin Lai(UK), 6-4, 6-4.
5. Aws Laaribi(PSU) def. Trey Yates(UK), 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(1).
6. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Jake Stefanik(UK), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Order of Finish: 1,2,4,3,5,6