MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's men's tennis team opened the spring portion of its 2021-22 schedule in impressive fashion, defeating former conference foe York (Pa.) 8-1 at the Hoverter Tennis Complex on a blustery Sunday afternoon, March 20. 

The Lions (2-3) went 3-for-3 in doubles competition, with Caleb Fockens and Sachin Venkatesh rolling to an 8-1 win over Tej Laliwala and Jack Leinbach in the top doubles matchup, Nick Rohn and Andrew Schreck defeating Evan Stehman and Lance Fries 8-4 in the No. 2 contest, and Tye Abendschoen and Rishikesh Singh topping Ben Dorsey and Hayden Musser 8-4 in the No. 3 outing.

That momentum carried over into singles competition, as Fockens cruised to a 6-0, 4-0 (retired) win over Laliwala in the top solo matchup. Aaron Krasley also rolled in the No. 2 contest, besting Leinbach 6-0, 6-1. Venkatesh went over Stehman 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 3 outing, while Rohn captured a 6-2, 6-3 win against Fries in the No. 5 contest and Derwin Merca handled Matthew Christian 6-1, 6-2 in the sixth matchup. 

After a hot start to the spring, the Lions will look to keep things rolling when they host Division II Kutztown for a match at the Hoverter Tennis Complex on Thursday afternoon, March 24. First serve is set for 3:30 p.m.

Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg Athletics all season long on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using the handle @pshbgathletics.