RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 27 Univerisity of Pennsylvania men's tennis team split its first matches on its spring break trip on Monday. The Quakers defeated The Citadel, 7-0, to open the trip before falling, 7-0, to No. 33 N.C. State. Penn will be back in action on Wednesday against UNC-Charlotte.

How it Happened

The Quakers got off to a fast start against The Citadel as they began their spring break trip to North Carolina. Kyle Mautner and Dmitry Shatalin earned a convincing 6-2 victory and then Edoardo Graziani and Kevin Zhu followed suit with a 6-1 victory of their own to clinch the doubles point. 

The Red and Blue kept it going in singles. Zhu took over in the one slot for Mautner who rested for the afternoon match against N.C. State and picked up a straight set, 6-2, 6-4 victory. Five of Penn's six singles matches ended with straight-set victories. Shatalin lost just two games in a 6-2, 6-0 win while Aleks Huryn carried momentum after winning a hard-fought first set, 7-5, to take the second, 6-0. Max Cancilla bounced back after losing the first set, 6-4, to take the second with the same score and then the ensuing 10-point tiebreaker, 10-7. 

In the afternoon match, the Quakers faced arguably their biggest matchup of the weekend against No. 29 N.C. State. Penn lost the doubles point after Max Cancilla and Robert Smithline fell at number three doubles, 6-1, and then Graziani and Zhu went down, 6-2, at number two. 

While losing the doubles point wasn't the start they would have wanted, the Quakers lost doubles earlier this season in matches against Harvard and Dartmouth and come back to win. However, early three-set matches did no go Penn's way. 

After losing the first set, 6-2, Zhu bounced back to take the second 7-5 after securing a late break of serve to force a third. However, the freshman lost the decider, 6-3. Mautner got off to a strong start, taking the first set, 6-3, but fell in the ensuing two, 6-3, 6-1 against the No. 43 Alexis Galarneau as Penn lost its second, three-set match of the day. 

Shatalin lost a third, three-set match for the Quakers at number singles. The senior came back after losing the first set to take the second, 6-3. He then fell in a close, deciding tiebreak, 7-6 (2) to clinch the match for NC State. 

Up Next
Penn will be back in action on Wednesday against UNC-Charlotte to continue its spring break trip. 

Full Results

No. 27 Penn 7, The Citadel 0

Doubles
1. Kyle Mautner/Dmitry Shatalin (PENN) def. Gavin Stewart/Willem van Zyl (CIT) 6-2
2. Kevin Zhu/Edorado Graziani (PENN) def. Roy Hobson/Will Graham (CIT) 6-1
3. Max Cancilla/Robert Smithline (PENN) def. Phillip Quinn/Noah Nawabi (CIT) 7-5

Singles
1. Kevin Zhu (PENN) def. Roy Hobson (CIT) 6-2, 6-4
2. Edorado Graziani (PENN) def. Jack Pyritz (CIT) 6-1, 6-4
3. Dmitry Shatalin (PENN) def. Noah Nawabi (CIT) 6-2, 6-0
4. Max Cancilla (PENN) def. Willem van Zyl (CIT) 4-6, 6-4, 10-7
5. Jason Hildebrandt (PENN) def. Gavin Stewart (CIT) 6-3, 6-2
6. Aleks Huryn (PENN) def. Will Graham (CIT) 7-5, 6-0

No. 33 N.C. State 7, No. 27 Penn 0

Doubles
1. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (ST) def. Kyle Mautner/Dmitry Shatalin (PENN) 6-3

2. Alexis Galarneau/Yannai Barkai (ST) def. Edoardo Graziani/Kevin Zhu (PENN) 6-2
3. Michael Ogden/Tadas Babelis (ST) def. Max Cancilla/Robert Smithline (PENN) 6-1

Singles
1. #43 Alexis Galarneau (ST) def. #54 Kyle Mautner (PENN) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
2. Igor Saveljic (ST) def. Edoardo Graziani (PENN) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
3. Tadas Babelis (ST) def. Kevin Zhu (PENN) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
4. Yannai Barkai (ST) def. Dmitry Shatalin (PENN) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Georgiy Malyshev (ST) def. Noah Makarome (PENN) 6-3, 6-0
6. Ivan Saveljic (ST) def. Jason Hildenbrandt (PENN) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2