UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's tennis team (4-0) tallied a 6-1 win over Duquesne (0-2) and collected a 7-0 victory over St. Francis (0-2).
"I think it's nice to start the season off with four quality wins," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "I feel like we're trending in the right direction. We have some things that we're going to have to work on this week. Each week gets tougher and tougher. I feel like a lot of guys got to play today, which was good. So, I feel like we're trending in the right direction, and these were what these matches were for."
DUQUESNE
DOUBLES
The Nittany Lions swept the Dukes on all three courts to earn the doubles point.
Stefan Simeunovic and Miko Eala earned Penn State its first win of the dual match against Liam Wickwire and Keita Duclos, 6-0. Loren Byers and Sam Bossem clinched the Blue and White the doubles point with a 6-1 victory over Kaipo Marshall and Jin Dassanayake.
Malik Bhatnagar and Charl Morgan added a 6-4 win for the Nittany Lions against David Georgadze and Tamirlan Teberikov to give Penn State the doubles sweep.
SINGLES
Penn State grabbed wins on five courts to defeat Duquesne.
Bossem took the first point for the Nittany Lions by defeating Jin Dassanayake, 6-0, 6-1. Eala took down Tamirlan Teberikov, 6-2, 6-1.
Morgan recorded a comeback victory against David Georgadze, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Duquesne tallied their lone point of the match with Kaipo Marshall's 7-6 (7-5), 0-6, 6-2 singles match win against Loren Byers.
In response, Ismail Saadi and Pranav Nemani both clinched their singles matches for the Blue and White at No. 5 and 6, respectively. Saadi defeated Keita Duclos, 6-1, 6-0, and Pranav Nemani won against Bode Vance 6-4, 6-2.
RESULTS
Penn State 6, Duquesne 1
Doubles Results
- Malik Bhatnagar/Charl Morgan (PSU) def. David Georgadze/Tamirlan Teberikov (DUQ) 6-4
- Loren Byers/Sam Bossem (PSU) def. Kaipo Marshall/Jin Dassanayake (DUQ) 6-1
- Stefan Simeunovic/Miko Eala (PSU) def. Liam Wickwire/Keita Duclos (DUQ) 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles Results
- Kaipo Marshall (DUQ) def. Loren Byers (PSU) 7-6 (7-5), 0-6, 6-2
- Charl Morgan (PSU) def. David Georgadze (DUQ) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. Miko Eala (PSU) def. Tamirlan Teberikov (DUQ) 6-2, 6-1
- Sam Bossem (PSU) def. Jin Dassanayake (DUQ) 6-0, 6-1
- Ismail Saadi (PSU) def. Keita Duclos (DUQ) 6-1, 6-0
- Pranav Nemani (PSU) def. Bode Vance (DUQ) 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 2, 1, 5, 6
ST. FRANCIS
DOUBLES
The Nittany Lions bested St. Francis in two doubles matches to secure the doubles point.
Byers and Bossem defeated Adam Kush and Gregory Troyan handily, 6-1.
The Red Flash added a doubles win when Zachary Palko and Patrick Reese won their match against Paduraru and Nemani, 7-5.
However, the Blue and White took the doubles point when Bhatnagar and Morgan declared victory in a close match versus Marc Fuste and Andrew Teixeira, 7-6 (7-2).
SINGLES
Penn State walked away with six singles wins.
Eala led the Nittany Lions to their first singles victory against St. Francis when he defeated Marc Fuste, 6-1, 6-0. Loren Byers gave the Blue and White another point with his 6-3, 6-3 win against Fabio Varella.
Nemani defeated Jordi Garcia at the No. 4 position, 6-4, 6-4. At the No. 5 singles position, Simeunovic collected a win over the Red Flash's Christian Banti, 6-0, 6-0.
Paduraru gave the Blue and White their final singles point of the match by defeating Matt Kozar 6-0, 7-6 (7-3).
RESULTS
Penn State 7, St. Francis 0
Doubles Results
- Malik Bhatnagar/Charl Morgan (PSU) def. Marc Fuste/Andrew Teixeira (SFU) 7-6 (7-2)
- Loren Byers/Sam Bossem (PSU) def. Adam Kush/Gregory Troyan (SFU) 6-1
- Zachary Palko/Patrick Reese (SFU) def. Andrei Paduraru/Pranav Nemani (PSU) 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Results:
- Loren Byers (PSU) def. Fabio Varella (SFU) 6-3, 6-3
- Miko Eala (PSU) def. Marc Fueste (SFU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Ismail Saadi (PSU) def. Adam Kush (SFU) 6-4, 6-4
- Pranav Nemani (PSU) def. Jordi Garcia (SFU) 7-5, 6-2
- Stefan Simeunovic (PSU) def. Christian Banti (SFU) 6-0, 6-0
- Andrei Paduraru (PSU) def. Matt Kozar (SFU) 6-0, 7-6 (7-3)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6
"These are long days but very happy we came out with double wins pushing us to 4-0 this season," said associate head coach Paul Tobin. "There are so many good teams out there that can push us. These are not easy matches by any means; and I am glad to see we stepped up. Still need to work on doubles; but I feel we are going in the right direction."
UP NEXT
Penn State men's tennis will take on Mount St. Mary's and Drexel in another home doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. E.T.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State men's tennis team during the season. Follow the team on Twitter @pennstateMTEN, Instagram @pennstatemtennis and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstatemenstennis.