University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head East For Final Road Matches
4/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Minneapolis, Minn. -The No. 31 University of Minnesota men's tennis team completes their road schedule this weekend as they battle Ohio State and Penn State. The Gophers face off against the Buckeyes on Friday night at 5 p.m., and on Sunday they will play their final away match at 11 a.m. against the Nittany Lions.
Last weekend, the Gophers fell to then-No. 15 Michigan on Friday night before grabbing a 6-1 victory over Michigan State on Sunday. Minnesota holds a 4-3 record in the Big Ten, and a 15-6 season record.
On Sunday, senior Jeremy Lynn was paired with Matic Spec in the No. 3 doubles spot. They picked up a 6-4 victory for their first win on the season as a pair. The doubles point was won after Justyn Levin and Josip Krstanovic picked up a 6-4 victory at No. 2, also their first season victory as a pair.
After securing the doubles point, the Gophers won five out of six singles matches. Eli Ogilvy, Marino Alpeza, and Krstanovic each lost their first set 3-6, but showed their resilience and battled back to win their matches in three sets. Felix Corwin and Stefan Milicevic also won their matches for the Maroon & Gold, contributing to the 6-1 victory over the Spartans.
The road schedule is completed this weekend and then Gophers return home the following weekend to wrap up the regular season. On April 21 the Purdue Boilermakers will come to town, and on April 23 the Gophers host the Indiana Hoosiers for their final home match at Baseline. The Big Ten Tournament starts April 27 in West Lafayette, Ind.
Gophers in the Rankings
Climbing one spot from last week, the Gophers are ranked No. 31 in the latest ITA National Rankings. Spec comes in at No. 74, while no doubles pairs are currently ranked for Minnesota.
About Ohio State
The Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the latest rankings. They are undefeated in Big Ten, with seven straight wins and their latest coming against Purdue. Ohio State holds a 22-3 record on the season, and none of their losses came at home in Columbus. Four singles players are ranked, two of them in the top ten. Mikael Torpegaard is the top singles player in the nation, Hugo Di Feo is No. 7, JJ Wolf is No. 65, and Herkko Pollanen is No. 108. The pair of Pollanen and Torpegaard rank No. 9 for doubles, while their teammates Martin Joyce and Di Feo come in at No. 26.
About Penn State
Penn State holds a 4-3 record in the Big Ten and carry a 13-8 overall record. Although not ranked as a team and no singles players are ranked for the Nittany Lions, the pair of Constant De La Bassetieri and Christian Lakoseljac are currently ranked No. 55.
You can follow all of the action this year on the Gophers' Facebook, Twitter, and Instragram.
Players Mentioned
