| Adam Slagter picked up wins in singles and with Michael James in doubles to help the Nittany Lions secure a 6-1 win over Cornell. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 2, 2007 ?C The 52nd-ranked Nittany Lion men??s tennis team moved to 3-0 after a convincing 6-1 decision over Cornell on Saturday at Sarni Tennis Center. After blanking Colgate and Lehigh to open the season, the Nittany Lions dropped just one singles match and one doubles bout against the Big Red of Cornell.
In doubles, Penn State grabbed a 1-0 lead after taking two of the three matches. At the No. 1 spot Michael James (Clifton, Va.) and Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas), ranked 23rd in the Fila ITA National Doubles Poll, were pitted against the 41st-ranked doubles team in the nation in Nick Brunner and Josh Raff from Cornell. After four tight games, Slagter and James converted on a break opportunity in the fifth game to grab the early edge. From there, the Nittany Lion duo served out the match, with the one break proving to be the difference. Slagter and James took the match by a score of 8-6. The duo moves to 8-1 on the season.
At No. 2, senior Ryan Berger (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and freshman Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) were matched up against Cornell??s Dan Brous and Rory Heggie. Berger and Gormley fell behind early and were unable to rally back, with Brous and Heggie taking the match, 8-5.
With the point up for grabs after two matches, James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and freshman Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) got up a break and did not look back. Dwyer and St-Maurice handled Kyle Doppelt and Joshua Goldstein by a final count of 8-4, giving the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead.
At No. 1 singles, James faced off against Brunner. Brunner jumped on the Nittany Lion junior early after a strong first set (6-4). Despite losing his first set of 2007, James rallied back in the second after quick break. He used his strong serve to take the second, 6-1. In the decisive set, James and Brunner were on serve until the 11th game. After a cross-court winner on break-point, James grabbed the edge. From there, he served out the match to take the win (4-6, 6-1, 7-5). James moves to a team-best 14-2 on the season.
Berger rallied in the second to grab a straight-set win over Raff at the No. 2 spot. After winning the first (6-2), Berger trailed Raff 4-1 in the second set. He regrouped to rattle off a string of games to send the set into a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Berger came up with a key break at a crucial time to snag the second, 8-6, giving the senior the straight-set win. Berger improves to 10-4 on the season.
At No. 3 singles, Slagter also rallied from a set down to defeat Cornell??s Brous. Slagter dropped the first set by a margin of 6-4. However, the sophomore came right back with two convincing sets to overpower Brous, and take the match (4-6, 6-2, 6-1). Slagter is now 8-4 this season.
Gormley and St-Maurice were victorious at the No. 4 and 5 spots, respectively. The two freshmen continued their strong play thus far in 2007. Gormley was a straight-set winner over Cornell??s Doppelt by a score of 6-3, 6-2. St-Maurice dropped the first set in a tiebreak, but bounced back to take the match (6-7 (5), 6-4, 10-8). Gormley improves to 7-2, and St-Maurice goes to 11-3 this season.
Dwyer dropped the lone singles bout in the match to Cornell??s Jonathan Fife. Fife took the match in straight sets (6-4, 6-3). Dwyer falls to 6-4 on the year.
??I was pleased with our intensity and the way we competed,?? said head coach Todd Doebler. ??We played hard in doubles and at the top of the lineup in singles. Michael and Adam had a very good win over a good nationally-ranked doubles team.??
Cornell falls to 0-1 on the season. Penn State will continue its homestand next weekend when St. Bonaventure, Bloomsburg and St. John??s are in town. The first serve against St. Bonaventure is slated for Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Then the Nittany Lions will take on Bloomsburg on Saturday at 5 p.m. They will finish the weekend with a 10 a.m. match against St. John??s on Sunday. Admission is free.
Final Score: Penn State 6, Cornell 1
Doubles
1: Michael James/ Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Nick Brunner/ Josh Raff (Cornell), 8-6
2: Dan Brous/ Rory Heggie (Cornell) def. Ryan Berger/ Ryan Gormley (PSU), 8-5
3: James Dwyer/ Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Kyle Doppelt/ Joshua Goldstein (Cornell), 8-4
Singles
1: Michael James (PSU) def. Nick Brunner (Cornell), 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
2: Ryan Berger (PSU) def. Josh Raff (Cornell), 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
3: Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Dan Brous (Cornell), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
4: Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Kyle Doppelt (Cornell), 6-3, 6-2
5: Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Joshua Goldstein (Cornell), 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)
6: Jonathan Fife (Cornell) def. James Dwyer (PSU), 6-4, 6-3