|
Nittany Lions Neutralized by Illini, 6-1
Welnetz earns singles victory for Penn State
UNIVERSITY
PARK, Pa.— The Penn State men’s tennis team (11-11, 1-8) hit a speed
bump in the form of the No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini (13-6, 7-2)
Sunday afternoon. Junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) rebounded in
fourth singles to earn an impressive victory on an otherwise tough day
that saw the Nittany Lions fall, 6-1.
Penn State’s doubles
attack started slowly as junior C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) and
red-shirt junior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) dropped the No. 2
doubles match, 8-0. Welnetz and sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas)
then fell to No. 25 Dennis Nevolo and Roy Kalmanovich, 8-2. After
Illinois sealed the first point, senior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia,
Pa.) and freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) forced a
breaker on court three with the score tied at 5-5. Farris Gosea and
Stephen Hoh upended the duo’s bid for Penn State’s first win of the day
though, winning the breaker, 7-2.
Penn State continued its
slow start as Hasyn fell to Hoh, 6-2, 6-2 in fifth singles. Next, Bader
jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set against Kalmanovich.
Kalmanovich went on a huge run from that point. The No. 38 singles
player in the nation ran off 12 straight games en route to earning a
7-5, 6-0 win on court two.
Trailing 3-0, Penn State turned
to Cohen in hopes of righting the ship. Cohen and Bruno Abdelnour
battled back and forth in the first set, eventually ending up locked in
a 6-6 tie. The tandem fought point for point in the breaker, which saw
Cohen eventually score on a forehand winner to re-tie the breaker at
10-10. Abdelnour then took two straight points to earn a 12-10 win in
the breaker and go up one set to none. His momentum carried into the
second set as Abdelnour secured a 7-6 (10), 6-1 victory to clinch
Illinois’ seventh Big Ten conference victory of the season.
Hanzlik
then opened up against No. 5 Nevolo in impressive fashion. The freshman
jumped out to a 5-3 lead with a flurry of backhand returns and forehand
attacks. Hanzlik could not continue the energy though, eventually
falling 7-5 in the first set. Hanzlik took a 2-0 second set lead, but
once again could not finish the deal, falling 6-3 and giving Illinois a
5-0 lead.
All attention then turned to Welnetz’s match
against Tim Kopinski on court four. Welnetz dropped the first set, 6-4,
but began chipping back in the second frame. Trailing early, the junior
fought back and eventually sent the set to a tie breaker. The two went
back and forth before Welnetz finally secured a 7-4 win, which sent the
tandem to a decisive third set. There was no separation to be found
early as the tandem battled to a 9-9 tie. Finally, Welnetz was able to
gain the much needed separation as he scored two straight points and
earned the Nittany Lion’s first win of the day.
Finally,
Griffin fought hard against Gosea as he attempted to carry the Lions to
their second triumph in a row. Griffin took an early lead, but could
not hold on in the first set, falling 7-5. The junior battled back to
force a breaker in the second set, before ultimately winning, 7-6 (6).
He could not continue the positive momentum though, falling 10-2 in the
final set.
Penn State will wrap up the regular season next
weekend with a split travel schedule. The Nittany Lions will head out
to Michigan for a 4 p.m. match against the Michigan Wolverines, Friday,
April 20. They will return home to close out the regular season on
Sunday, April 22 with a noon bout against the Michigan State Spartans.
Follow the Nittany Lions on Facebook at Penn State Men’s Tennis and Twitter: @PSUMensTennis.
#23 Illinois 6, Penn State 1:
Doubles:
1. #25 Dennis Nevolo/Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) def. Russell Bader/Bryan Welnetz (PSU) 8-2
2. Ross Guignon/Tim Kopinski (ILL) def. C.J. Griffin/Christopher Hasyn (PSU) 8-0
3. Farris Gosea/Stephen Hoh (ILL) def. Taylor Cohen/Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) 6-5 (7-2)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
1. #5 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) def. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) 7-5, 6-3
2. #38 Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) def. Russell Bader (PSU) 7-5, 6-0
3. Bruno Abdelnour (ILL) def. Taylor Cohen (PSU) 7-6 (12-10), 6-1
4. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Tim Kopinski (ILL) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 11-9
5. Stephen Hoh (ILL) def. Christopher Hasyn (PSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Farris Gosea (ILL) def. C.J. Griffin (PSU) 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 10-2
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 1, 4, 6
|
