Lions Overpower Titans for Fourth Straight Win
ALTOONA, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's tennis team extended its winning streak on Tuesday, posting its fourth consecutive victory this season with a 6-3 defeat of non-conference foe Westminster College at The Summit Tennis and Athletic Club.
Penn State Altoona (4-3) nabbed the early lead in the match by winning two out of three in doubles, and the Lions grew their advantage in singles play by taking four out of six to hand Westminster (1-3) a three-point loss.
Penn State Altoona started the match with wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles matches. In the No. 1 spot, the tandem of Casey Hess (Annville, PA/Annville-Cleona)/Andrew Chronister (York, PA/Dallastown) boosted their perfect record to 7-0 this season with an 8-1 victory. Westminster picked up a point with a win in No. 2 doubles, but the Lions ended doubles play with a 2-1 lead, after the duo of Wilhelm Grot (Tyrone, PA/Tyrone)/Emmett Hibbs (Richfield, PA/East Juniata) earned their fourth win of the season together with an 8-4 triumph.
The Titans scored two points in singles, pulling out tight tiebreaker wins in the No. 4 and No. 5 matches. But Penn State Altoona handled the visitors otherwise, securing victories in the other four singles spots.
Hess recorded his fifth singles win of the season in the No. 1 match, shutting his opponent out, 6-0, 6-0. Chronister improved to 7-0 this season with a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the No. 2 match, and Nick Beard (Manns Choice, PA/Bedford) provided what was ultimately the match-winning point for the Lions by defeating his opponent 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 3 slot. Grot rounded out Penn State Altoona's success in singles, winning 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 6 match for his second victory of the season.
Penn State Altoona men's tennis will face another non-conference opponent from the Presidents' Athletic Conference this Thursday, April 4, when the Lions will host Waynesburg University. That match will also be played indoors at The Summit, with a start time set for 3:30 p.m.
