| Michael James tallied his ninth-straight singles win to lead the No. 40 Nittany Lions to a 5-2 victory over No. 29 Minnesota. |
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.; April 1, 2007 ?C After dropping two of the three doubles matches, the 40th-ranked Nittany Lion men??s tennis team rallied to score five wins in singles play on its way to ousting No. 29 Minnesota by a score of 5-2 at the Baseline Tennis Center on Sunday.
Penn State (14-2, 4-1 Big Ten) rode strong singles play to its third-straight Big Ten and sixth-straight win overall. The victory also marks the Lions?? third Big Ten triumph on the road against a ranked opponent this season. Despite dropping the doubles point, the Nittany Lions took charge in singles play to score the key road win.
??I am really proud of how well the guys bounced back after losing the doubles point,?? said head coach Todd Doebler. ??For us to win five of the six singles on the road against a very good Minnesota team is a great accomplishment. I am proud of the way Michael bounced back after being down 5-1 to win his match. It was great to see Brendan get a good win over a tough opponent.??
At No. 2 doubles, sophomore Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) dropped a tight 8-5 decision to Minnesota??s Mikey Kantar and Raoul Schwark. With the Minnesota win on the board, the Golden Gophers took the early edge in the battle for the doubles point. Slagter and Gormley fall to 3-2 on the year.
The Golden Gopher doubles team of Andres Osario and Chi-Lang Pham sealed the doubles point for Minnesota by defeating junior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and senior Bradley Hunter (Atlanta, Ga.) at the No. 3 spot by a score of 8-4. With the loss, Hunter and Dwyer fall to 3-3 on the year.
Despite Minnesota scoring the doubles point, senior Ryan Berger (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and junior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) snagged a win for the Nittany Lions in the No. 1 match. Berger and James edged the Minnesota team of Sion Wilkins and Nich Edlefsen in a tiebreaker (8-7 (4)). The Nittany Lion pair is now 5-1 on the season.
With Minnesota up 1-0, the match turned to singles play. Sophomore Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) evened the match at one with a straight-set win at the No. 4 spot. Lynch jumped out to a 6-1 edge over Edlefsen in the first. Despite an Edlefsen rally in the second, Lynch managed to secure the point for Penn State with a 7-2 edge in a tiebreaker (7-6 (2)). The win boosted his season record to 14-3.
At No. 5 singles, Gormley gave the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead by defeating Kantar in three sets. Gormley cruised to a 6-2 edged in the first. However, Kantar came back with a vengeance in the second, squaring the match with a 6-1 rout. In the decisive set, Gormley topped Kantar by a score of 6-2 to give Penn State the point. Gormley??s win marked his sixth consecutive in singles play, boosting his dual-match rookie record to 12-2.
Minnesota knotted the match at two after Schwark defeated Berger in straight sets at the No. 2 spot. After taking the first by a 6-4 margin, Schwark, who is ranked 93rd in the nation, blanked Berger in the second, 6-0, to give Minnesota the point. With the loss, Berger falls to 11-4 in duals during his senior season at Penn State.
Dwyer notched his eighth-straight singles win at the No. 6 spot on Sunday, giving Penn State a 3-2 lead in the match. The Nittany Lion junior routed Dino Bilankov in the first (6-1). Dwyer sealed the match with a 6-4 triumph in the second. He now holds a solid 13-2 record in duals this season.
At the No. 1 singles spot, James, who is ranked 90th in the latest ITA National Singles Poll, continued his hot streak with a straight-set win over Osario (7-5, 6-3). In a fierce battle in the first, James grabbed the one-set lead. The Nittany Lion standout grabbed a break to oust Osario in the second, 6-3. James?? victory not only sealed his ninth consecutive singles win, but it gave the Nittany Lions the match. He is now an impressive 24-4 overall and 13-2 in duals this season.
With Penn State leading 4-2, Slagter added some insurance for Penn State with his three-set triumph over Minnesota??s D.J. Geatz. Geatz took the first set 6-4, but the Nittany Lion sophomore battled back to take the remaining two sets, 6-3, 6-4. Slagter, who has now won six straight singles bouts, holds a 15-6 overall mark in his second season at Penn State.
??This was not an easy road trip, and it is great to return with two wins, especially beating a good Minnesota team after losing the doubles point,?? said Doebler.
Minnesota falls to 12-6 (2-3 Big Ten) overall on the year. The Golden Gophers will now face Iowa on April 11.
The Nittany Lions will return home on Friday, April 6 for a 3 p.m. match at Sarni Tennis Center against Purdue. On April 8, Penn State will welcome No. 8 Illinois to University Park for a noon match. Admission is free.
Final Score: #40 Penn State 5, #29 Minnesota 2
Doubles
1. Ryan Berger/Michael James (PSU) def. Sion Wilkins/Nich Edlefsen (MN), 8-7 (7-4)
2. Mikey Kantar/Raoul Schwark (MN) def. Slagter/Gormley (PSU), 8-5
3. Andres Osario/Chi-Lang Pham (MN) def. Dwyer/Hunter (PSU), 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. #90 Michael James (PSU) def. Andres Osario (MN), 7-5, 6-3
2. #93 Raoul Schwark (MN) def. Ryan Berger (PSU), 6-4, 6-0
3. Adam Slagter (PSU) def. D.J. Geatz (MN), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Nich Edlefsen (MN), 6-1, 7-6 (2)
5. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Mikey Kantar (MN), 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
6. James Dwyer (PSU) def. Dino Bilankov (MN), 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 6, 1, 3