MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg won its 2013 season opener over Alvernia on Tuesday, Sep. 17.  The Lions disposed of the visiting Crusaders 6-3 despite struggling at the top of the lineup.  The Blue & White's depth from top to bottom proved to be the deciding factor in the teams' first match of the fall. 

While Penn State Harrisburg's top doubles team of sophomore Ben Leibig (Lebanon, Pa. / Lebanon) and senior Tyler Miller (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg) fell 8-3 to the Crusaders' talented pair of Dennis Sult and Dan Minnich, the Lions' number two and three duos made up for the defeat.  Senior Vincent Lepore III (Chipachet, R.I. / Ponaganset) and sophomore Alex Koltun (Mount Gretna, Pa. / Cedar Crest) bested Alvernia's team of Aaron Yuros and Ben Daubenspeck 8-2.  The Lions' number three squad consisting of Chris Magee and Austin King topped the visitor's Jacob Conapitski and Colin MacCloskey by the same margin, giving the Blue & White a 2-1 advantage heading into singles play.

Sult and Minnich earned victories in the top two singles spots but just as they did in doubles play, the Lions' 3-6 players picked up their teammates by winning.  Miller won his first match of the year by a 7-6, 6-2 margin over Yuros in the three slot while Koltun disposed of Daubenspeck 6-1, 6-1 in a battle of the teams' number fours.  Magee, the Lions' number five solo man, handled Conapitski 6-1, 6-2 and Lepore rounded out the Blue & White lineup by defeating the Crusaders' Sean Boyd 6-0, 6-3 in the number six position.

Tuesday's victory got Penn State Harrisburg's season off to fine start.  The Lions get a bit of a break before taking part in the ITA Tournament at Mary Washington beginning next Friday, Sep. 27.