| Junior Michael James collected his second Big Ten Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week honor in less than a month for his efforts in the Nittany Lion wins at Iowa and then-No. 29 Minnesota. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 6, 2007 ?C For the second time in three weeks, junior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) was tabbed as the Big Ten Men??s Tennis Athlete of the Week on Thursday for his efforts in the Nittany Lion conquests at Iowa (7-0) and then-No. 29 Minnesota (5-2).
James earned his first career athlete of the week honor back on March 15 for his play in Penn State??s 4-3 win at Michigan. The Nittany Lion junior has now won nine-straight decisions in singles play.
??It??s a great achievement for Michael to receive this honor for a second time because there are so many good players winning big matches every week,?? said head coach Todd Doebler. ??I look forward to seeing how Michael will do the rest of the way because all we have left is conference matches, and if he continues to push himself, he could do some special things. A lot of his success this year is due to a few adjustments in his game, but most importantly, his competitive drive and his composure during matches.??
At Iowa City on Friday, senior Ryan Berger (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and James handed Iowa??s Gregory Holm and Walker Grimes an 8-3 defeat in the No. 1 doubles match. From there, James was a straight-set winner over J.P. Ritchie in the first singles match. After cruising to a 6-2 win in the first, the Nittany Lion junior found himself in a battle in the second. James prevailed in a tiebreaker (7-6 (4)) to take the No. 1 match.
Two days later in Minneapolis, James was instrumental in the Lions?? 5-2 triumph against the 29th-ranked Golden Gophers. Berger and James edged the Minnesota team of Sion Wilkins and Nich Edlefsen in a tiebreaker (8-7 (4)) to take the first doubles bout. The Nittany Lion pair is now 5-1 on the season. In singles play against Minnesota, James continued his hot streak with a straight-set win over Osario (7-5, 6-3). James, who trailed 5-1 in the first, rallied to a one-set lead by rattling off six-straight games. The Nittany Lion standout grabbed a break to oust Osario in the second, 6-3. The victory sealed the Lions?? match-winning point at Minnesota.
During his nine-match streak, James has dropped just one set. In all, he has won 27-of-33 sets this season. James holds an impressive 24-4 overall mark in 2007, including a 13-2 record in duals.
The Nittany Lions return home today with a 3 p.m. bout against Purdue at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Penn State will then host No. 8 Illinois on Sunday at noon. Admission to the Indoor Tennis Center is free for both matches.