Feb. 3, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team dropped six spots in the ITA Poll, released Tuesday, but still remained in the Top 25 for the fourth straight poll. The Nittany Lions, 3-1, fell to No. 22 in the rankings after splitting their doubleheader on Sunday against Penn and Temple.
The Nittany Lions, led by Head Coach Jeff Zinn and Assistant Coach Paul Tobin, are in the ITA Poll for the fourth straight poll this spring and the 11th straight poll dating back to the 2014 season.
Penn State stumbled against Penn, who moved up to No. 51 in the rankings, 4-3 in the opening match of the doubleheader. The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point, but got singles wins from sophomore Alex Fennell (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) and junior Matt Barry (Lido Beach, N.Y.) at No. 2 and 3, respectively.
The blue and white bounced back against Temple, sweeping the doubles point and not dropping a set during singles play. Fennell and Barry continued their strong play, winning while each moving up a spot in the lineup. Sophomore Nika Dolidze (Tbilisi, Georgia), junior Roman Trkulja (Toronto, Canada), senior Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) and sophomore Marc Collado Castells (Barcelona, Spain) all earned singles wins.
Barry and Fennell combined for two doubles wins on the day, winning at No. 2 against Penn and No. 1 against Temple. Dolidze and sophomore Christian Lutschaunig (Richboro, Pa.) got a victory at No. 2 against Temple, while Collado Castells and senior Michael Reilly (Raleigh, N.C.) paired up for a win at No. 3.
Penn State travels to Blacksburg, Va. on Saturday for a matchup against No. 37 Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. The Hokies are 4-1 this spring.
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