Jan. 24, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The No. 26 Penn State men's tennis team(2-0) clinched a berth in the ITA Team Indoor National Championships with a 4-1 victory over No. 20 University of South Florida(3-1) on Saturday. The Nittany Lions earned their second straight win over a Top 20 opponent to start the 2015 season. Penn State won the doubles point and picked up wins at No. 1, 3 and 4 singles. With the win, the Nittany Lions earned a bid to be one of 16 teams headed to National Indoors on February 13-16 in Chicago, Ill., hosted by the University of Illinois.
Penn State earned a berth in the ITA Team Indoor National Championships for the first time since 2008. Entering the weekend as the fourth seed in the Lexington Regional, the Nittany Lions knocked off No. 19 Kentucky, 4-3, and No. 20 USF on consecutive days. It marks the first time that Penn State has defeated two ranked opponents to start a season. It is also the first time ever that Penn State has beat two Top 20 opponents in a season.
"I couldn't be happier for our players," said Head Coach Jeff Zinn. "We played at a very high level today, especially with one of our top players out to due sickness, we had to move some players in that had not played. They played amazing."
At the top singles spot, junior Leonard Stakhovsky (Kiev, Ukraine) matched up against USF's Roberto Cid, ranked 19th in the ITA Poll. After dropping the first set, 6-3, Stakhovsky bounced back with a 6-4 win in the second set. The junior came out on top in the deciding set, 6-3. Stakhovsky improved to 2-5 this year, with both wins coming against Top 50 opponents.
Junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) competed against the Bulls' Oliver Pramming at No. 3. The junior fell 7-5 in the opening set, but responded with a 6-4 victory in the second set. In the final set, Barry earned a 6-2 win to clinch the match for the Nittany Lions. Barry moved to 6-3 overall.
At the fourth singles position, sophomore Aws Laaribi (Rye, N.Y.) took on Sasha Gozun. The sophomore improved to 2-0 this spring and 7-3 overall with a straight-set, 6-4, 6-4 win.
"Leo Stakhovsky at No. 1 played amazing today to beat a great player at No. 1," said Zinn. "He played like he's been our leader and he lead us today. Again, Matt Barry clinches the match for us. He's so special and we couldn't be a great team without him. Aws Laaribi, our transfer, has been unbelievable this year and for him to get us on the board first was great."
Sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) met the Bulls' Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz at the second spot in the lineup. However, Gonzalez-Muniz claimed a straight-set victory, 7-5, 6-2. Fennell is now 4-6 overall.
Senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) faced Vadym Kalyuzhnyy at the fifth singles position. The match went unfinished after Penn State clinched the match. However, Hanzlik won the first set, 6-3, and was leading 1-0 in the second when the match was stopped.
Sophomore Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia) competed against USF's Justin Roberts at No. 6 singles. Dolidze took the first set, 6-1, and was ahead 2-1 in the second when his match was stopped.
Junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada) was sick and could not compete in the match, causing the No. 3 through No. 6 positions to move up a spot in the lineup.
The Nittany Lions clinched the doubles point against USF with two wins.
Barry and Fennell combined at the No. 2 doubles spot against Gonzalez-Muniz and Kalyuzhnyy. The Nittany Lion duo earned a 6-3 victory to improve to 5-2 overall.
At No. 3 doubles, Laaribi and sophomore Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) took on USF's Pramming and Roberts, ranked 44th in the ITA Poll. The Penn State pair came out on top, 6-4, to clinch the point for the Nittany Lions.
Senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) and Stakhovsky paired up at No. 1 doubles against Cid and Gozun, ranked 6th in the ITA Poll. The Nittany Lion duo was leading 6-5 when the match was stopped after Penn State clinched the point.
"A huge win for the team," said Assistant Coach Paul Tobin. "Picking up the doubles point was crucial in keeping the momentum going into singles. We knew USF was not going to roll over and we were a little surprised that we had easier runs in certain positions. Great job by Matt clinching the win, though Nika and Tomas also had their matches under control. What a great way to start the season, beating two Top 20 ranked teams and getting to the final 16 at the National Indoors next month."
The Nittany Lions make their home debut next Sunday, February 1, in the program's first ever tripleheader. Penn State takes on Penn at 9 a.m. with matches against James Madison and Temple following.
Please check back to GoPSUsports.com for more coverage of the Penn State men's tennis team. Updates are also available on our Facebook, Penn State Men's Tennis, and Twitter, @pennstateMTEN, pages.
Doubles:
1. Reilly/Stakhovsky(PSU) vs. #6 Cid/Gozun(USF), 6-5, unfinished.
2. Barry/Fennell(PSU) def. Gonzalez-Muniz/Kalyuzhnyy(USF), 6-3.
3. Laaribi/Lutschaunig(PSU) def. #44 Pramming/Roberts(USF), 6-4.
Order of Finish: 2,3
Singles:
1. Leo Stakhovsky(PSU) def. #19 Roberto Cid(USF), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
2. Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz(USF) def. Alex Fennell(PSU), 6-2, 7-5.
3. Matt Barry(PSU) def. Oliver Pramming(USF), 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
4. Aws Laaribi(PSU) def. Sasha Gozun(USF), 6-4, 6-4.
5. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) vs. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy(USF), 6-3, 1-0, unfinished.
6. Nika Dolidze(PSU) vs. Justin Roberts(USF), 6-1, 2-1, unfinished.
Order of Finish: 2,4,1,3