| Adam Slagter watches as teammate Michael James hits the ball. Slagter and James went undefeated in both doubles and singles Saturday to help the Lions sweep both St. Bonaventure and Bloomsburg on Saturday. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; February 10, 2007 ?C With the Big Ten season slated to start in one week, the 50th-ranked Penn State men??s tennis team moved to 5-0 on Saturday after shutting out St. Bonaventure and Bloomsburg at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.
Despite getting off to a slow start in the first match of the day against St. Bonaventure, the Nittany Lions dropped only one set over the course of the two matches.
??I was pleased with how the guys came out and took care of business,?? said head coach Todd Doebler. ??In the first match, our two and three doubles teams started a bit slow, but the guys recovered and finished the matches off well. In both matches, the guys competed hard and played at a good level in singles.??
Penn State 7, St. Bonaventure 0
In the first match of the day, Penn State wasted little time grabbing a 1-0 lead after three impressive wins in doubles. At the No. 1 spot, junior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) and sophomore Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas), who are ranked 23rd in the Fila ITA National Doubles Poll, grabbed an early break on Alejandro Nery and Jonathan Luce. The Nittany Lion duo did not look back as they cruised to an 8-2 win over the St. Bonaventure pair. James and Slagter remain unbeaten in dual matches this season.
At No. 2, senior Ryan Berger (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and freshman Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) paired up for the first time this season. The duo had a successful start as they defeated St. Bonaventure??s Andrew Hart and Dejan Stankovic by a score of 8-4.
Freshman Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and junior Chris Sherman (Edina, Minn.) rallied from 4-1 down to defeat Diego Valdenegro and Victor Lecina of the Bonnies (8-5). Gormley and Sherman rattled off the last five games of the match.
After taking a 1-0 lead, the match turned to singles action. The No. 1 match proved to be the best of the day. Berger was pitted against St. Bonaventure??s Nery. Nery used strong groundstrokes in the first to control the pace of the set. He was able to grab the set by a 7-5 margin. However, Berger battled back in the second. He broke Nery in the fifth game, and went on to win the set, 6-3. In the tiebreak third set, Nery led Berger 5-1, and looked to be in position to take the match. Nonetheless, Berger fought back. The Nittany Lion senior won the next five points to take a 6-5 lead. With the breaker tied 8-8, a Nery forehand sailed long to give Berger match point. The senior took the match on his serve (5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)). Berger improves to 11-4 on the season with the win, including a 4-0 mark in duals.
At the No. 2 spot, James wasted little time defeating Valdenegro. The Nittany Lion junior blanked Valdenegro in the first set (6-0). James cruised to a 6-1 edge in the second to take the match. He remains undefeated in singles so far in dual matches this season. James holds a team-best 15-2 overall record this year.
Slagter was a straight-set winner at the No. 3 spot over St. Bonaventure??s Leo Mochizuki. Slagter dominated the first set, 6-1. In the second, the duo was on serve until Slagter took control. The sophomore went on to take the second set by a score of 6-3. Slagter is now 9-4 on the season and 3-0 in dual matches.
Gormley dominated Hart at the No. 4 spot. He blanked Hart in the first to take a commanding one-set lead. Gormley dropped only one game in the second, and took the match (6-0, 6-1).
St-Maurice and junior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) were victorious at the No. 5 and 6 spots respectively. St-Maurice was a straight-set winner over Luce (6-2, 6-3). Dwyer dropped only one game against Lecina on his way to a 6-1, 6-0 straight-set win.
With the loss, St. Bonaventure falls to 2-4 on the season.
Penn State 7, Bloomsburg 0
In the second match of the day, the Nittany Lions matched up against head coach Doebler??s alma mater. Penn State swept Bloomsburg as Doebler faced off against head coach Marty Coyne, who coached Doebler when he played for the Huskies.
??It was fun to have coach Coyne and the Bloomsburg Huskies here for the match,?? said Doebler, who graduated from Bloomsburg in 1996. ??I remember when I played at Bloomsburg how much fun it was to come to Penn State and play against a team at this level.??
The Nittany Lions grabbed a 1-0 lead after two convincing victories in doubles. James and Slagter continued their dominance as a doubles team, as the duo racked up an 8-2 win over Bloomsburg??s Dan Gal and Ryan Glubo. James and Slagter are now 10-1 on the season and 5-0 in dual matches.
At the No. 2 spot, Berger and St-Maurice moved to 2-0 as a team after blanking Dan Phillips and Will Biddle (8-0). Penn State earned the win at the No. 3 spot by default.
In singles action, St-Maurice stepped in at the No. 1 spot for the first time in his college career. The rookie was a straight-set winner over Gal by a score of 6-1, 6-2. St-Maurice improves to 13-3 on the season and 5-0 in duals.
Fellow freshman Gormley occupied the No. 2 spot. Gormley used a big serve to cruise past Bloomsburg??s Glubo. Gormley did not drop a game in his first match at the No. 2 spot (6-0, 6-0). The freshman won 24-of-25 games on the day. With the win, he improves to 9-2 as a collegian.
Dwyer was a straight-set winner over Phillips at the No. 3 spot. After jumping out to a 6-1 edge in the first set, Dwyer closed out the match in the second with a 6-2 decision. The junior moves to 7-4 on the year.
In his second singles match in dual play this season, Sherman defeated Biddle at the No. 4 spot by a score of 6-0, 6-2. Freshman David Bortner (State College Pa.) had a sound showing in his singles debut in a dual match at the No. 5 spot. Bortner blanked Geoff Whitley in straight sets (6-0, 6-0). He moves to 3-0 on the season in singles play.
Bloomsburg falls to 0-1 on the season with the loss.
Penn State will closeout its six-match homestand on Sunday with a 10 a.m. match against the St. John??s Red Storm at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Admission is free.
Final Score: Penn State 7, St. Bonaventure 0
Doubles
1. Michael James/ Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Alejandro Nery / Jonathan Luce (St. Bon.), 8-2
2. Ryan Berger/ Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Andrew Hart / Dejan Stankovic (St. Bon.), 8-4
3. Chris Sherman/ Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Diego Valdenegro / Victor Lecina (St. Bon.), 8-5
Singles
1: Ryan Berger (PSU) def. Alejandro Nery (St. Bon), 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
2: Michael James (PSU) def. Diego Valdenegro (St. Bon.), 6-0, 6-1
3: Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Leo Mochizuki (St. Bon.), 6-1, 6-3
4: Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Andrew Hart (St. Bon.), 6-0, 6-1
5: Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Jonathan Luce (St. Bon.), 6-2, 6-3
6: James Dwyer (PSU) def. Victor Lecina (St. Bon.), 6-1, 6-0
Final Score: Penn State 7, Bloomsburg 0
Doubles
1. Michael James/ Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Dan Gal/ Ryan Glubo (Bloomsburg), 8-2
2. Ryan Berger/ Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Dan Phillips/ Will Biddle (Bloomsburg), 8-0
3. David Bortner / James Dwyer (PSU) win by default
Singles
1: Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Dan Gal (Bloomsburg), 6-1, 6-2
2: Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Ryan Glubo (Bloomsburg), 6-0, 6-0
3: James Dwyer (PSU) def. Dan Phillips (Bloomsburg), 6-1, 6-2
4: Chris Sherman (PSU) def. Will Biddle(Bloomsburg), 6-0, 6-2
5: David Bortner (PSU) def. Geoff Whitley (Bloomsburg), 6-0, 6-0
6: PSU win by default