As the 2020 season begins, the Penn State Altoona men's tennis program will rest its hopes on a largely young roster. The Lions return four players from their 2018-19 squad, while the team welcomes seven first-year players.

Penn State Altoona already has four matches under its belt this season, as the Lions faced Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opponents Mount Aloysius College, Penn State Behrend, Pitt-Bradford, and Pitt-Greensburg this past September and October, during the fall portion of the team's schedule. The team went 1-3 in those matches, with its victory coming in an 8-1 decision over Pitt-Bradford.

Now, the Lions will pick things up to play the bulk of their schedule during the spring semester, their main season of competition. Head coach Megan Stern, who is in her second year coaching the men's squad, will rely on young players settling into the lineup. She is also focused on the importance of recording early wins in doubles play to help put her team in a better position to win the match.

"We have a pretty young lineup in our top six to seven players. After getting to play a little together in the fall, I'm hoping that our doubles teams will have better chemistry and more consistency," Stern explained. "Starting out the match on top with two or three doubles wins is vital and will give us the momentum going into our singles matches. I'm expecting our top players in the lineup – especially our one through four players – to step up and be leaders and help propel us to win matches."

Returners for the Lions are senior Andrew Ung (Upper Chichester, PA/Chichester), junior Jimmy Gillespie (Glen Mills, PA/Garnet Valley), and sophomores Kirk Eichenlaub (Hollidaysburg, PA/Hollidaysburg) and Jaydan Jacobs (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/Charlotte Amalie).

As for newcomers, Penn State Altoona adds seven first-year players to its 2019-20 roster: Pat Adams (Newtown, PA/Marple Newtown), Micah Brinker (Lock Haven, PA/PA Cyber), Zachary Guasto (Sound Beach, NY/Miller Place), Dominic Lisanti (Mechanicsville, MD/Chopticon), Aaron Manu (Meriden, CT/Orville H. Platt), Ben Maus (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley), and Joshua Wefers (Colchester, VT/Colchester).

"Jaydan, in particular, will be crucial in our lineup at three doubles and singles, as we depend a lot on his strong serve and powerful ground strokes to win points. We'll look to Jimmy and Micah to close out some big doubles wins together, as well," said Stern. "Three of our freshmen who joined this past fall have made a big difference in our depth. Josh and Ben have great chemistry together in doubles, and they have also been working hard on improving their singles games. Dominic adds depth for us at three doubles, and we also add depth to our lineup with senior Andrew Ung and sophomore Kirk Eichenlaub."

After going 2-14 during the 2018-19 season, Stern expects to see improvement in the team's level of success this spring. However, she is adamant that her players will need to perform with more consistency to bring that improvement to fruition.

"I expect our team to play more consistency and confidently, especially in our doubles competitions," she stated. "I am looking forward to the season, and am expecting to see progress in individual players and in our team as a whole."

Penn State Altoona men's tennis starts its spring schedule on Thursday, February 27 at 6:30 p.m., facing non-conference opponent Juniata College in a home match at The Summit Tennis and Athletic Club.

After that, the Lions play one more match in February before competing in four during March and five during April, including four home matches during that span. The team's full schedule can be viewed HERE.