MIKO Eala was quick to make his presence felt in the US NCAA as part of the Penn State University men’s tennis team.
The 18-year-old brother of Alex has won two straight matches earlier in the week as he made his debut in the Big 10 conference.
On Sunday, the rookie edged out college junior Trice Pickens of Northwestern University in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8, to win a lone point on the board of for the Nitanny Lions.
Penn State, however, finished 0-2 in the contest. Out of the six games played by Penn, only Eala won in the singles.
Head coach Jeff Zinn commended the Filipino’s play.
“I am disappointed that we lost, but our true freshmen are really playing well,” said Zinn in a game recap published by GoPSUsports.com, the official publication of Penn. “Great job to our freshman Miko for picking up a win over a veteran Northwestern player.”
Last Friday, Eala also made waves, surviving the University of Illinois’ Kweisi Kenyatte, 7-5, 4-6, 11-9, in the tournament opener. He was joined by Christian Lakoselijac in Penn's win tally out of the five total singles games.
The Nitanny Lions will next face No. 9 Ohio State University on Sunday as Eala vies for his third straight win.