ITHACA, N.Y. – The Penn State men’s tennis team (0-2) dropped a hard fought 4-3 contest to Cornell in Ithaca on Sunday afternoon.
“We put ourselves in a good position to get the win, picking up the doubles point,” said associate head coach Paul Tobin. “We had many opportunities in singles with Sam and Loren getting us one point away. Cornell felt the pressure and stepped it up. We need to do a better job staying aggressive and dictating and that’s not going to happen three feet behind the baseline.”
DOUBLES
The Nittany Lions won on courts two and three to clinch the doubles point over the Big Red.
On court two, Miko Eala and Charl Morgan bested duo Adit Sinha and Jack McCarthy, 6-4. Malik Bhatnagar and Alexander Karman secured the doubles point with a 6-3 victory over Evan Bynoe and Nathan Mao.
Chikaya Sato and Bora Sengul lost in a 6-2 decision to Cornell’s Alafia Ayeni and Vladislav Melnic.
SINGLES
Cornell earned wins on courts one, two, three, and four to take the match.
Loren Byers secured the second win of his career in straight sets over Cornell’s Adit Sinha, 7-6, 6-0. Sam Bossem defeated Jack McCarthy 6-4, 7-6 on court six.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions return for their home opener against Cleveland State and Colgate in a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 4.
RESULTS
Cornell 4, Penn State 3
Doubles Results
-
Alafia Ayeni/Vladislav Melnic (Cornell) def. Chikaya Sato/Bora Sengul (PSU), 6-2
-
Miko Eala/Charl Morgan (PSU) def. Adit Sinha/Jack McCarthy (Cornell), 6-4
-
Malik Bhatnagar/Alexander Karman (PSU) def. Evan Bynoe/Nathan Mao (Cornell), 6-3
Singles Results
-
Alafia Ayeni (Cornell) def. Chikaya Sato (PSU), 6-1, 6-4
-
Vladislav Melnic (Cornell) def. Malik Bhatnagar (PSU), 6-4, 6-1
-
Radu Papoe (Cornell) def. Charl Morgan (PSU), 6-1, 6-1
-
Evan Bynoe (Cornell) def. Miko Eala (PSU), 7-6, 6-2
-
Loren Byers (PSU) def. Adit Sinha (Cornell), 7-6, 6-0
-
Sam Bossem (PSU) def. Jack McCarthy (Cornell), 6-4, 7-6
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.