| Michael James and the Nittany Lions will head to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the 28th Annual Big Ten Indoor Singles Championships on Nov. 10. |
- Big Ten Singles Championship Draw in PDF Format
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 9, 2006 - After a strong showing at the ITA Northeast Regional Championships, eight members of Penn State??s men??s tennis team will compete in Ann Arbor, Mich. at the 2006 Big Ten Indoor Singles Championships from Nov. 10-13. Action will take place at the Varsity Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Michigan.
Head coach Todd Doebler is looking forward to the Big Ten Indoor Singles Championships.
??Since the regional championships, the guys have been working incredibly hard both on the court and off in strength and conditioning,?? said Doebler. ??We are excited to play against other schools in the Big Ten. It will be a good barometer of where we are this fall and where we need to get to for the spring.??
??Although we did have a strong showing at the ITA Regionals, the guys have been really motivated to get better.??
Junior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) garnered the No. 15 seed in the 64-player main draw. James is coming off of a run at the ITA Regional Championships that ended in the quarterfinals. James will open up play at the Big Ten Singles Championships against Purdue??s Kurt Zaske.
Four other Nittany Lions also qualified for the main draw: Bradley Hunter (Atlanta, Ga.), Ryan Berger (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.).
Lynch is coming off of an impressive run at the ITA Regional Championships where he advanced to the semifinals after knocking off the tournament??s No. 1 seed, Brandon Wai from Yale.
Penn State also earned three bids in the 32-player qualifying draw. Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec), Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) will all start play on Friday in the second round of the qualifying draw. All three earned first-round byes.
The first and second rounds of the 32-player qualifying draw will be played on Friday beginning at 9 a.m. The eight players remaining will qualify for the main draw.
The first and second rounds of the 64-player main draw are scheduled to begin on Saturday at 8 a.m. The third round and quarterfinals will be played on Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. The tournament will conclude with the semifinals and championship match on Monday. There will be a consolation bracket for first-round losers.
Fans can follow all of the action at www.mgoblue.com.
The Big Ten Indoor Singles Championships will conclude the fall season for the Nittany Lions. The Lions will open up the spring season on January 28 against Colgate at Sarni Tennis Center.