GRANTHAM, Pa. - Penn State Harrisburg's men's team won a 4-3 thriller over non-conference opponent Messiah on Thursday afternoon, April 24 to help extend their current win streak to nine in a row.


Damir Cuturic and Cooper Wheeler dominated in the top doubles contest, as the duo topped Messiah's Chase Wilson and Lance Wilson 6-1. In the No. 2 matchup, Andrew Schreck and Peng Mark Hou earned a 6-4 win over Brady Hahn and Timothy Sheaffer. The Falcons' Luke Risser and Elijah Noll swiped the No. 3 contest from Derwin Merca and Kevin Liang by a score of 6-4.


Penn State Harrisburg's (14-5) Hou, Wheeler, and Cuturic helped secure the tight victory over Messiah thanks to their successes in the top of the lineup. Hou defeated C. Wilson 6-1, 6-3 in the No. 1 pairing, while Wheeler earned a 6-1, 6-0 decision over L. Wilson in the second matchup. Cuturic recorded the Lions' final victory of the afternoon in the No. 3 spot, when he topped Hahn 6-3, 6-0. Merca and Clayton Herb were edged by Sheaffer and Risser in the No. 5 and No. 6 matchups, respectively.


The Lions have a few days to recover as they await their opponent in the United East Championship semifinal round. As the regular season conference champions, Penn State Harrisburg earned the right to host either Penn College or Penn State Berks on Tuesday, April 29 at the Hoverter Tennis Complex.


Fans can keep up with Penn State Harrisburg men's and women's tennis all season long on Instagram and X by using the handle @pshbgtennis.