| Ryan Berger picked up a straight-set win at the No. 3 spot in the Nittany Lion's 6-1 victory over Purdue. |
UNIVERSIY PARK, Pa.; April 6, 2007 ?C In a match closer than the score indicated, the 34th-ranked Penn State men??s tennis team came out on top of 6-1 decision against Purdue at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center on Friday, notching the Nittany Lions?? seventh-straight win.
Penn State (15-2, 5-1 Big Ten) took a 1-0 lead in the match after sweeping the Boilermakers in doubles. From there, the Lions snagged five hard-fought singles bouts to secure the 6-1 win. The victory marks Penn State??s fourth-straight in the Big Ten.
??We came out with great energy and executed on all three courts today in doubles,?? said head coach Todd Doebler. ??In singles, Ryan (Berger) and Michael did an outstanding job taking care of business today. Now we have a tough task facing a talented Illinois team on Sunday.??
In the No. 2 doubles match, sophomore Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) gave Penn State a quick edge in the scuffle for the doubles point by defeating Purdue??s Eric Hodgman and Kurt Zaske, 8-1. The Lion duo, who were paired together for the first time this season, trailed 1-0, but rattled off eight-straight games to take the match.
Junior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and sophomore Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) gave Penn State a 1-0 lead after handing the Boilermaker team of Paul Foley and Griffin Nienberg an 8-3 setback at the No. 3 doubles slot. Dwyer and Lynch controlled the match from the initial serve, and cruised to the 8-3 victory.
Senior Ryan Berger (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and junior Michael James (Clifton, Va.), who are now ranked 41st in the latest ITA National Doubles Poll, sealed the sweep for the Nittany Lions with a tiebreak-win (8-7 (1)) over Branko Kuzmanovic and Paul Rose in the No. 1 match. Berger and James are now 6-1 on the year.
With the Nittany Lions up 1-0, the match moved to six competitive singles bouts. At the No. 1 singles spot, James, who was named Big Ten Men??s Tennis Athlete of the Week for the second time this season on Thursday, continued his sizzling play with yet another straight-set win. James disposed of Kuzmanovic by a score of 6-2, 6-3 for his 10th-straight singles win. He is now an impressive 25-4 overall, 14-2 in duals and 5-1 in the Big Ten this season. James?? win put Penn State up by a score of 2-0 in the match.
Berger was also a straight-set winner at the No. 3 spot. He jumped out to a 6-1 win in the first over Purdue??s Hodgman. In the second, the Nittany Lion veteran cruised to a 6-2 edge, giving Penn State a 3-0 lead. With the win, Berger improves to 12-4 in duals on the year.
Slagter garnered the match-sealing point for the Nittany Lions with his three-set win over Rose in the second singles bout. The Nittany Lion sophomore battled to a 6-3 win in the first. However, Rose rallied in the second with a 6-3 edge to even the match at one. Slagter rose to the occasion in the third by dominating Rose with stellar net play on his way to a 6-1 win. Slagter now holds a 16-6 overall mark in his second season at Penn State. He is also 12-2 in duals and 5-1 in Big Ten play this year.
Freshman Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) gutted out a three-set marathon against Zaske at the No. 4 spot. Gormley used a late break to edge Zaske in the first set, 7-5. Zaske came roaring back in the second, handing the Nittany Lion rookie a 6-2 defeat. Nevertheless, Gormley battled his way to a 7-5 win in the third, handing Penn State a 5-0 lead in the match. The win marked Gormley??s seventh consecutive in singles play, boosting his dual-match record to 13-2.
Dwyer dropped the lone match to the Boilermakers at the No. 6 spot. Warner handed Dwyer a 6-2, 6-4 loss, snapping his eight-match winning streak. With the loss, Dwyer falls to 14-3 in duals this season.
Lynch rolled over Foley in the No. 5 singles match. The southpaw was a 6-2 winner in the first, before taking the match with a 6-4 edge in the second. Lynch remains undefeated in 2007 (4-0). He possesses a 15-3 overall mark in second season as a collegian.
With the setback, Purdue falls to 8-8 on the year and 1-4 in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions continue their weekend homestand with bout against No. 8 Illinois at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday at noon. Admission is free.
Final Score: #34 Penn State 6, Purdue 1
Doubles
1. #41 Ryan Berger/Michael James (PSU) def. Branko Kuzmanovic/Paul Rose (PUR), 8-7 (1)
2. Adam Slagter/Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Eric Hodgman/Kurt Zaske (PUR), 8-1
3. James Dwyer/Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Paul Foley/Griffin Nienberg (PUR), 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. #102 Michael James (PSU) def. Branko Kuzmanovic (PUR), 6-2, 6-3
2. Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Paul Rose (PUR), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
3. Ryan Berger (PSU) def. Eric Hodgman (PUR), 6-1, 6-2
4. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Kurt Zaske (PUR), 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
5. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Paul Foley (PUR), 6-2, 6-4
6. Scott Warner (PUR) def. James Dwyer (PSU), 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 5