UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The William & Mary men's tennis team saw its six-match win streak come to a close at No. 44 Penn State, 5-2, on Sunday. The balance of the match came down to a quartet of three-set tilts with the Nittany Lions (8-0) winning two to pull out the victory. Juniors Aidan Talcott and Damon Niquet continued their winning ways in singles for the Tribe (7-3), posting three-set triumphs.
 
Talcott pushed his dual-match mark to 9-0 with a three-set win over Tomas Hanzlik, who entered the contest as the Nittany Lion leader in singles wins at 14-5, including a perfect 6-0 dual-match record. Hanzlik won the opening set, 6-1, at the fifth spot, before Talcott rallied with a 6-4 win in the second. The Tribe junior took the third set in a super tiebreaker, 11-9, to improve to 13-6 overall and 5-0 at No. 5.
 
Niquet came back from a set deficit at No. 6 to run his win streak to seven. Ben Lieb took the first set, 6-0, before the Tribe junior rallied to take the second, 7-5. He outlasted Lieb in a third-set super tiebreak, 10-8, to up his mark to 10-8 overall and 7-1 in dual-match competition. Lieb entered the tilt at 12-3 overall and a perfect 6-0 in duals.
 
Penn State took the doubles point to open the match in a pair of narrow 6-4 wins at No. 1 and No. 2. The Nittany Lions won at the top two singles positions in straight sets to increase its lead to 3-0. At the top spot, sophomore Christian Cargill had his six-match win streak snapped by No. 47-ranked Leo Stakhovsky, falling in a pair of tiebreakers.
 
At No. 3 and No. 4 singles, junior Addison Appleby and sophomore Lars de Boer jumped out to set leads. Appleby took the opening set, 6-1, from Aws Laaribi, who was ranked as high as No. 120 nationally this season. Laaribi rallied with close wins, 7-5, 7-6, in the second and third sets at No. 3. de Boer jumped on top of Matt Barry with a 6-4 win the first set at No. 4. Barry, who has been ranked as high as No. 99 nationally, rebounded to take the final two sets, 6-4, 6-1.
 
The Tribe returns to action when it hosts Bucknell on Sunday, Feb. 28. The match carries a 10 a.m. start time from the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
 
#44 Penn State 5, William & Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 – #47 Leo Stakhovsky (PSU) def. Christian Cargill (W&M) – 7-6, 7-6
No. 2 – Constant De La Bassetiere (PSU) def. Alec Miller (W&M) – 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 – Aws Laaribi (PSU) def. Addison Appleby (W&M) – 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3)
No. 4 – Matt Barry (PSU) def. Lars de Boer (W&M) – 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 – Aidan Talcott (W&M) def. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) – 1-6, 6-4, 11-9
No. 6 – Damon Niquet (W&M) def. Ben Lieb (PSU) – 0-6, 7-5, 10-8
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 4*, 3, 5, 6
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Kohan/Lutschaunig (PSU) def. Appleby/de Boer (W&M) – 6-4
No. 2 – Stakhovsky/Barry (PSU) def. Huang/Miller (W&M) – 6-4
No. 3 – Galush/Trkulja (PSU) vs. Cargill/Niquet (W&M) – DNF, 5-4
Finishing Order: 1, 2*