Men’s Tennis Concludes Play at ITA Atlantic Regionals

LYNCHBURG, Va.– Penn State Men’s Tennis concluded play at the ITA Atlantic Regionals, hosted by Liberty University. 

 

SINGLES 

Four athletes represented Penn State in the Bronze bracket, collecting eight combined wins. Freshman Nolan Ranger picked up four wins on the weekend, knocking off Loyola’s Nick Lawliss (6-1, 6-4), Villanova’s Lukas Choi (7-6(6), 6-1) and Liberty’s Ernst Gouws (7-6(3), 7-5) to advance into the Silver bracket. Ranger dropped his Round of 64 match in the Silver bracket, against Richmond’s Daniel Kliebhan (6-2, 6-3) but went 1-1 in consolation action, falling to Duquesne’s Kaipo Marshall (1-6, 7-5, 10-5) but bouncing back for a 2-6, 6-1, 10-8 win over Virginia Tech’s Alex Ix.

Junior Harrison Janes earned three victories at regionals. He advanced out of the Bronze bracket with wins over George Mason’s Alvaro Pedraza (6-4, 7-6(8)), Villanova’s Will Monahan (7-5, 6-0) and Radford’s Robert Hagen (6-2, 5-7, 6-2). In the Silver bracket, Janes dropped a pair of decisions against Liberty’s Deji Thomas-Smith (6-2, 6-4) and Bucknell’s Tim Zelikovsky (7-6(2), 1-0, ret).

Freshman Jack Martuccio picked up victories against Villanova’s Cooper Gordon (6-2, 6-4) and Duquesne’s Alfrendo Vogelaar (6-3, 1-6, 7-5) before falling against Norfolk State’s Jakub Solarski (6-2, 6-3) in the Bronze bracket.

Fellow rookie Alexander Sterin went 1-1 in Bronze bracket action. He dropped a 6-3, 7-5 decision against Georgetown’s Akira Morgenstern, but bounced back for a consolation win over Temple’s Aayush Bhat (2-6, 6-3, 10-8).

In the Silver bracket, sophomore Stefan Simeunovic battled for a three-set win over William & Mary’s Konstantinos Raptis (6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(4)) and followed with a victory over Richmond’s Davis Wiley (4-6, 6-3, 7-5) but fell against Georgetown’s Zamaan Moledina (7-5, 3-2, ret) in the Round of 16.

Junior Chris Heck dropped a 7-5, 6-2 result against Delaware’s Karol Malirz in the Silver bracket Round of 64, but bounced back with a consolation win over Temple’s Erden Er (6-0, 6-1).

In the Gold bracket, junior Loren Byers earned two wins. He started the draw with a 7-5, 7-5 win over James Madison’s Esteve Agusti. In the Round of 32, Byers knocked off William & Mary’s Alexandre LeBlanc (7-6(2), 6-3). Byers dropped a a 6-2, 7-6(7) result in the Round of 16 against VCU’s Matisse Bobichon, ranked 57th in the…