MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's lineup may have looked a bit differently on Wednesday, Oct. 3, but it didn't stop the Lions from continuing their recent roll. The blue and white bested Susquehanna 6-3 at the Hoverter Tennis Complex and improved to 4-0 through the early portion of the team's fall schedule.
In doubles action, Ben Leibig (Lebanon, Pa. / Lebanon) and Tyler Loy (Annville, Pa. / Annville Cleona) paired up for the first time this season as the team's number one duo. Unfortunately, the gentlemen fell to their Crusader counterparts 8-6 in a hard-fought match. Vinnie Lepore (Chepachet, R.I. / Ponaganset) and David Pottle (York, Pa. / Central York) also teamed up for the first time in the number two slot. The pairing proved to be a major success as it yielded an 8-1 victory. Zachry Warriner (Montrose, Pa. / Montrose) and Vishnu Gopalakrishnan (Ashburn, Va. / Briar Woods) were also stout and downed Susquehanna's number three pair quite handily by an 8-2 tally.
Strong as they were in doubles play, the Lions were just as capable in their singles outings. Lepore, the reigning North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Student-Athlete of the Week, played up in the second slot from his usual third position and fared quite well, downing Susquehanna's Mats Haaland 6-1, 6-4. Pottle, the team's number four man in every match this fall, stepped up to the third position and bested the Crusaders' Ian Endresen 6-4, 6-1. Loy took care of business in the number five slot with a clean 6-0, 6-0 sweep and Gopalakrishnan survived a close first set before easily clinching his match 7-6, 6-1.
The changes in rank gave some of the team's players a chance to showcase their talents against stronger opponents than they usually face and the men responded admirably. The win is further proof that Penn State Harrisburg is off to another fine start this fall as the defending North Atlantic Conference (NAC) champs already have four credible non-conference victories to their names.
The blue and white have a true test ahead of them with York College paying Middletown a visit on Friday, Oct. 5. The Lions fell to the Spartans in the spring opener last March and will have revenge on their minds this time around.