MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg men's and women's tennis teams opened the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) portion of their schedule against the visitors from Lancaster Bible on Tuesday, Mar. 27. Both squads finished the afternoon with their first league wins of year. The men took care of business in a clean 9-0 sweep while the ladies handled the Chargers 7-2.
Once again the men were led by junior Joshua Cartmill (Carlisle, PA/Cumberland Valley). The ex-Eagle bested Lancaster Bible's number one singles player Phil Smock (Pottstown, PA/West-Mont Christian) 6-1 and 6-2. His junior counterpart Evgeny Matigullin (New Bloomfield, PA/Susquenita) matched his score in taking down the Chargers' number two Alex Ko (Carrollton, TX/Creekview) while sophomore Vinnie Lepore (Chepachet, RI/Ponaganset) remained undefeated this spring in the number three slot and by defeating Grant Noel (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township). Zachry Warriner (Montrose, PA/Montrose) (6-0, 6-4) and Vishnu Gopalakrishnan (Ashburn, VA/Briar Woods) (6-1, 6-0) handled their business in the fourth and sixth slots while the Lions' number five, Tyler Loy (Annville, PA/Annville Cleona), had a little extra work to do in defeating Colin George (Tarentum, PA/Evangel Heights Christian Academy) 1-6, 6-3 and 10-5.
No problem for Penn State Harrisburg took in doubles competition either. The teams of Cartmill/Matigullin and Lepore/Loy made quick work of their Lancaster Bible counterparts while Warriner and Gopalakrishnan used a 9-8 tiebreaker to take down the pair of Jeremy Davis (Oley, PA/Oley Valley) and George, giving the Lions their seventh win of the season.
On the women's side of things, Penn State Harrisburg had little to complain about it. The ladies' number one singles player in freshman Gabrielle LeGendre (East Stroudsburg, PA/Notre Dame) easily handled Lancaster Bible's number one, Brianna Funk (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) 6-0 and 6-1. Jordan Simpkins (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal) kept things rolling by besting Carmin Nachtigal (Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea/Ukarumpa International) in the four slot 6-3 and 6-4, as did newcomer Casey Stetler (Lititz, PA/Manheim Central), playing in her first match this year, and sophomore Jaclyn Gyger (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) (6-0, 6-1).
Doubles play was no different for the Lions. LeGendre and junior Theodora Avramidis (Glenwood, NJ/Vernon Township) took down the Chargers' team of Funk and Kayla Scott (Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea/Ukarumpa International) while the pairs of Simpkins/Stetler and Gyger and Alejandro Portillo (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) dispatched of the other Lancaster Bible duos. The lopsided victory improved the blue and white to 6-4 on the season.
The men hit the court again on Sunday, Apr. 1 when they take on another NEAC foe in Keuka. The women's next match comes on Saturday, Mar. 31 when they travel to Wells for a conference match with the Express.