The 2021-22 campaign marked the second straight year that Penn State failed to finish above .500.
The Nittany Lions ended with a 13-14 record and struggled in conference play, going just 3-6. They entered the Big Ten Tournament as the seventh seed with a matchup against tenth-seeded Indiana on the horizon.
In its lone matchup during the campaign, the blue and white took down the Hoosiers 4-3 in Bloomington, Indiana, but history reversed itself when the playoffs rolled around.
This time around, it was Penn State that fell 4-3 after Indiana secured the deciding doubles win. The two teams split the six singles matchups.
The Nittany Lions were struck with a big blow before the contest began, when Charl Morgan dropped out of the tournament due to an illness.
Morgan finished the year with an 18-11 singles record and had one of the better doubles records on the team, going 18-15.
The Johannesburg, South Africa, native was available earlier in the year when the blue and white took on Indiana and, despite losing in doubles, defeated Ilya Tiraspolsky in No. 4 singles.
Without Morgan in the lineup, coach Jeff Zinn’s squad was at a disadvantage because the junior was tied for the team lead in victories during the campaign.
Matching Morgan’s singles win total of 18 was sophomore Sam Bossem, who enjoyed a breakout year after not playing much as a freshman — when he played just three singles matches during the spring season, earning a 1-2 record.
The Wimborne Minster, United Kingdom, native performed at a mediocre clip in doubles matches in his second year, finishing with an 11-10 record.
The blue and white went into the campaign needing players to step up and fill the void left by Tim Ruetzel, and freshman Loren Byers did just that.
In Byers' first year competing in Happy Valley, he compiled an overall singles record of 17-10 while playing most of his matches in the No. 4 singles spot.
The Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native had big expectations entering the season as a 5-star recruit ranked No. 46 nationally.
Byers had a great freshman campaign, giving the blue and white a young cornerstone to help build around in the future.
Zinn made a big splash in the offseason, landing graduate student Malik Bhatnagar.
The Nittany Lions marked the third program Bhatnagar suited up for after playing his first year at Stetson and the past two at LSU.
After going 15-12 across all matches in his junior season, the Ottawa, Canada, native struggled in his first season in Happy Valley.
Bhatnagar recorded an 11-22 singles record, recording losses in his last 10 contests, and finished 15-16 in doubles matches. This was in part due to more than half of his singles matches coming in the No. 1 spot.
Like Bhatnagar, Penn State was constantly matched up against tough competition, playing nine games against top-75 opponents.
Of those nine contests, two were against teams ranked inside the top 10, including No. 2 Ohio State.
The Nittany Lions struggled in these games, failing to record a win while getting shut out four times.
Despite its losing record, the blue and white played well at home, with its close defeat to No. 20 Northwestern being proof of that.
Penn State must have enjoyed a nice home-cooked meal as it thrived in University Park, winning nine of 13 matchups, including six straight to open the year.
On the flip side, the Nittany Lions struggled away from home, finishing with a 3-7 road record and a 1-3 mark in neutral-site contests.
Despite an up-and-down 2022 season, the blue and white has a bright future with Byers leading the charge. It showed that it defends its home court well, but the next step will be to translate that success to matches on the road.
If the Nittany Lions can play better on the road, look for them to snap that two-year streak of finishing under .500.
Comments