Michigan
Penn State
Wolverines Unable to Rally at Penn State
3/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Site: State College, Pa. (Indoor Tennis Center)
Score: Penn State 4, Michigan 1
Records: U-M (3-10, 0-2 Big Ten), PSU (8-10, 1-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, March 27 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 5 p.m. CDT
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Senior Michael Zhu won in straight sets, but the University of Michigan men's tennis team lost the doubles point and could not rally in singles, falling to Penn State, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon (March 22) at the Indoor Tennis Center.
The Nittany Lions took the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots. The No. 75-ranked duo of Aws Laaribi and Leonard Stakhovsky defeated seniors Alex Petrone and Zhu, 8-6, as the first doubles match off the court. Then freshman Runhao Hua and redshirt freshman Alex Knight defeated Alex Fennell and Michael Reilly, 8-5, in the No. 2 position. This made the final doubles matchup the decider, and the team of Matt Barry and Christian Lutschaunig bested freshman Carter Lin and sophomore Kevin Wong to snag the doubles point and give PSU the 1-0 lead.
Penn State claimed victories in the first two singles matches to finish. Petrone fell in straight sets to Fennell in the No. 1 position, and then Knight lost in the No. 4 spot by the score of 7-6, 6-0. This gave the Nittany Lions a 3-0 lead, but then Zhu defeated Stakhovsky, 7-6, 6-4, to get Michigan on the scoreboard.
In the No. 3 position, Hua split sets with Barry but then lost the close third set, 7-5, to seal the 4-1 victory for Penn State. The loss gives the Wolverines a 0-2 record in the Big Ten and marks the first conference win of the season for the Nittany Lions.
Michigan returns to action on Friday (March 27), traveling to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on Iowa at 5 p.m. CDT at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Alex Fennell (PSU) def. Alex Petrone (U-M), 7-6, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 120 Michael Zhu (U-M) def. Leonard Stakhovsky (PSU), 7-6, 6-4
No. 3 -- Matt Barry (PSU) def. Runhao Hua (U-M), 0-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 4 -- Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) def. Alex Knight (U-M), 7-6, 6-0
No. 5 -- Carter Lin (U-M) vs. Aws Laaribi (PSU), 3-5 DNF
No. 6 -- Davis Crocker (U-M) vs. Roman Trkulja (PSU), 5-4 DNF
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 75 Aws Laaribi/Leonard Stakhovsky (PSU) def. Alex Petrone/Michael Zhu (U-M), 8-6
No. 2 -- Runhao Hua/Alex Knight (U-M) def. Alex Fennell/Michael Reilly (PSU), 8-5
No. 3 -- Matt Barry/Christian Lutschaunig (PSU) def. Carter Lin/Kevin Wong (U-M), 8-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 1-4-2-3
Communications Contact: Zach Eisendrath (734) 763-4423
