Saturday, February 3
University Park, Pa.
3:00 PM
Lehigh University
2
at
4
Penn State University
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Mountain Hawks Fall 4-2 To Penn State In Season Opener
2/3/2024 6:29:00 PM | Men's Tennis
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Lehigh men's tennis opened their season on the road with a test against Big Ten side Penn State on Saturday afternoon. Despite nearly picking up the doubles point, the Mountain Hawks dropped a 4-2 decision to the Nittany Lions in the season opener.
Lehigh (0-1) and Penn State (2-2) began the day with doubles competition. Lehigh's pairings consisted of Aristotelis Bezianis/Jackson Morash, who made a run to the ITA Regional quarterfinals together in the fall, returning All-Patriot Leaguers Matt Kleiman/Marc Blekhman and the team of Sean Jaeger/Jordan Paul.
Jaeger and Paul took care of business early, finishing first with a dominant 6-1 win over their Nittany Lion adversaries. Bezianis and Morash were bested 6-2 by Penn State, making Kleiman and Blekhman's match at number two the deciding contest. Although the match went all the way to a tiebreak, PSU's Ari Cotoulas and Nolan Ranger earned the 7-6 (7-4) victory to clinch the doubles point for the Nittany Lions.
Following the doubles matches, the two teams shifted to singles play, where the Mountain Hawks would earn the first point. Blekhman finished first by way of an impressive 6-0, 6-2 win over PSU's Ritvik Nadikude in his first singles match of the season. Kleiman would be bested at number one by Cotoulas in a 6-4, 6-3 win for the Nittany Lion first-year. However, the Mountain Hawks received a point via a forfeit against Morash, setting the score at 2-2 with only three matches left to be completed.
Although the Mountain Hawks gave the Nittany Lions a good fight, Penn State picked up victories at numbers two and five to clinch the dual meet win. Jaeger's singles match against Alexander Sterin was left unfinished at the conclusion of Paul's match against Stefan Simeunovic.
Lehigh will return home and host their first dual on their own court tomorrow against Villanova. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. from the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center.
Â
Singles
Ari Cotoulas (Penn State) def. Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-3
Stefan Simeunovic (Penn State) def. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) 6-2, 6-4
Nolan Ranger (Penn State) def. Aristotelis Bezianis (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-1
Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) def. Ritvik Nadikude (Penn State) 6-0, 6-2
Sean Jaeger (Lehigh) vs. Alexander Sterin (Penn State) 1-1, unfinished
Jackson Morash (Lehigh) winner by forfeit
Doubles
Eala/Simeunovic (Penn State) def. Bezianis/Morash (Lehigh) 6-2
Cotoulas/Ranger (Penn State) def. Kleiman/Blekhman 7-6 (7-4)
Jaeger/Paul (Lehigh) def. Sterin/Nadikude (Penn State) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (4, 1, 6, 3, 2, 5)
Â
Lehigh (0-1) and Penn State (2-2) began the day with doubles competition. Lehigh's pairings consisted of Aristotelis Bezianis/Jackson Morash, who made a run to the ITA Regional quarterfinals together in the fall, returning All-Patriot Leaguers Matt Kleiman/Marc Blekhman and the team of Sean Jaeger/Jordan Paul.
Jaeger and Paul took care of business early, finishing first with a dominant 6-1 win over their Nittany Lion adversaries. Bezianis and Morash were bested 6-2 by Penn State, making Kleiman and Blekhman's match at number two the deciding contest. Although the match went all the way to a tiebreak, PSU's Ari Cotoulas and Nolan Ranger earned the 7-6 (7-4) victory to clinch the doubles point for the Nittany Lions.
Following the doubles matches, the two teams shifted to singles play, where the Mountain Hawks would earn the first point. Blekhman finished first by way of an impressive 6-0, 6-2 win over PSU's Ritvik Nadikude in his first singles match of the season. Kleiman would be bested at number one by Cotoulas in a 6-4, 6-3 win for the Nittany Lion first-year. However, the Mountain Hawks received a point via a forfeit against Morash, setting the score at 2-2 with only three matches left to be completed.
Although the Mountain Hawks gave the Nittany Lions a good fight, Penn State picked up victories at numbers two and five to clinch the dual meet win. Jaeger's singles match against Alexander Sterin was left unfinished at the conclusion of Paul's match against Stefan Simeunovic.
Lehigh will return home and host their first dual on their own court tomorrow against Villanova. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. from the Lewis Indoor Tennis Center.
Â
Singles
Ari Cotoulas (Penn State) def. Matt Kleiman (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-3
Stefan Simeunovic (Penn State) def. Jordan Paul (Lehigh) 6-2, 6-4
Nolan Ranger (Penn State) def. Aristotelis Bezianis (Lehigh) 6-4, 6-1
Marc Blekhman (Lehigh) def. Ritvik Nadikude (Penn State) 6-0, 6-2
Sean Jaeger (Lehigh) vs. Alexander Sterin (Penn State) 1-1, unfinished
Jackson Morash (Lehigh) winner by forfeit
Doubles
Eala/Simeunovic (Penn State) def. Bezianis/Morash (Lehigh) 6-2
Cotoulas/Ranger (Penn State) def. Kleiman/Blekhman 7-6 (7-4)
Jaeger/Paul (Lehigh) def. Sterin/Nadikude (Penn State) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (4, 1, 6, 3, 2, 5)
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Tennis
Thursday, April 03
Season Preview Men's Tennis
Thursday, January 30
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Tennis
Wednesday, March 20
