Lok-ed out of final match, Senior Day

Thanks to a disagreement with his coach, Joseph Lok's tennis career ended one match early.

Lok skipped the match and the team's Senior Day ceremony in protest of coach Nik DeVore's decision to bench him.

The California native says that because of an ankle injury, he struggles to cover the court in singles, while he is fit to play doubles.

"My coach thought I wasn't trying," he said. "I told him I can't play singles, because there's a big difference between covering half a court and having to cover the whole court.

"He decided to bench me today, for basically no reason."

On Friday against Cornell, Lok won his doubles match but struggled to a 6-2, 6-0 singles loss. Lok and coach Nik DeVore said that he could barely move across the court during that match.

"I was expecting to play, I wanted to play, I told him I could play [doubles]," Lok said. "I could tell he was being really immature about it. He was doing it solely out of spite."

Lok normally plays at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles with Jason Pinsky. Penn won at both of those spots yesterday against Columbia.

The team held a Senior Day ceremony before the match. Addressing both teams, DeVore recognized Penn's three other seniors individually and made no mention of Lok.

"I just did not want to be at the match," Lok said. "I did not want to see him."

DeVore had said after the match that Lok's injury prevented him from attending. In a statement afterward, he confirmed that Lok's absence was his own decision and a reaction to getting benched.

Through an Athletics department representative, DeVore declined to answer questions.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.