Miko Eala and the Penn State University Nittany Lions did it the hard way but bounced back into contention in the Western Division of the Big Ten Intercollegiate Tennis competitions with their first road win of the season.
The Nittany Lions came away with a 5-2 triumph over Michigan State University Spartans in East Lansing, Michigan last Sunday.
This allowed the Nittany Lions to bounce back from their 1-6 setback to the University of Michigan Wolverines last Saturday.
Eala, a recruit from the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, prevailed over Anthony Pero, 6-1, 6-3, to contribute his share of points in the fourth single.
“I’m proud of the guys to come back the way we did today, especially after not doing well in doubles,” said PSU head coach Jeff Zinn on the team’s official website.
Their team victory was their fourth in five outings in the West Division.
This put them in a share of second place with Ohio State, while the Wolverines are unbeaten, and in the solo lead after four outings.
After losing points in two of three doubles matches, the Nittany Lions rebounded in singles play to win their sixth straight match against the Spartans.
Their big wins in the singles came after PSU partners Christian Lakoseljac and Sam Bossem earned their first win as a duo this season to put away John Carlin and Graydon Lair 6-3, in the third doubles.
The Nittany Lions took charge when they won five of the six singles matches.
Eala, who is from the Philippines, was impressive when he evened the score at 1-1 with his 6-1, 6-3 win over Anthony Pero.
Freshman Bora Sengul, who is from Turkey, swept over Spartans bet Carson Gates 6-4, 6-2 to give Penn State a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth straight match, Tim Ruetzel tallied a third point in putting away Luke Baylis 6-2, 6-4.
Senior netter Christian Lakoseljac clinched the match for the Nittany Lions at the No. 1 spot with a sweep over Josh Mukherjee 7-6, 6-1.
