Sept. 29, 2007
FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. - The top-seeded Nittany Lion men's tennis team posted its second straight shutout with a 7-0 victory against Dartmouth in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Men's Invitational Tennis Championship on Saturday at the USTA National Tennis Center.
The Nittany Lions struck first by sweeping all three doubles matches. Penn State dominated at the No. 1 and 3 spots to secure initial point of the dual. In singles, the Nittany Lions continued their hot play with six victories to seal the shutout. Penn State moves on to face Harvard in the semifinals at the USTA National Tennis Center on Sunday at 8 a.m.
"The guys did a good job taking care of business today," said second-year head coach Todd Doebler. "Now, we will look forward to our semifinal match against Harvard. Over the years, Harvard has done very well at this tournament. The guys are excited for this opportunity."
In doubles play, junior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) and sophomore Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) got Penn State on the board first with an 8-3 victory at the hands of the Dartmouth duo of Curtis Roby and David Fink at No. 3. Lynch and Gormley quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead. The Nittany Lion team maintained the momentum to closeout the 8-3 win.
Senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) and junior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas), who are ranked 36th in the ITA national doubles rankings, gave Penn State a 1-0 lead in the match after ousting the Dartmouth team of Mark Brodie and Stephen Greif by a score of 8-4 in the No. 1 doubles bout. Despite trailing 7-2, the Dartmouth team managed to cut the score to 7-4, but James and Slagter scored a match-sealing break in the 12th game of the pro-set to secure the victory.
Senior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and freshman Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) rallied to score a victory at No. 2 doubles over Jeff Schechtman and Dan Freeman of the Big Green, 8-6. Dwyer and Bourchier trailed 4-1 before obtaining a break to set the score at 4-3. The two teams stayed on serve until the 13th game. The Nittany Lion duo snagged a break to take a 7-6 lead, and ultimately served out the match.
With Penn State up 1-0, the match turned to singles play. Slagter ousted Freeman at the No. 2 spot (6-1, 7-5) to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead in the match. After dominating the first, Slagter found himself in a battle during the second. The two were on serve late in the set until Slagter notched a crucial break to take a 6-5 lead. He then served out the set, 7-5.
At No. 4, Bourchier put in a dominating performance to score a 6-0, 6-2 win against Roby. Bourchier used quick starts in both sets to take commanding leads. After getting up 3-0 in the second, the Nittany Lion rookie cruised to his first collegiate dual match victory. With Bourchier's win, the Nittany Lions gained a 3-0 lead in the match.
James clinched the match for Penn State with a 6-4, 6-1 straight sets victory over Brodie at No. 1. James, who is ranked 35th in the ITA national rankings, led 3-0 in both sets, but Brodie made charges to close the margin. Despite the pressure, James rolled through the second to score a the match-sealing point for the Nittany Lions.
Dwyer picked up a straight sets win over Greif at No. 5, 6-3, 6-3, to give Penn State commanding 5-0 lead. In a match closer than the score, Nittany Lion senior held off a strong effort from Greif to score the point.
Lynch edged Dartmouth's Justin Tzou at the No. 3 spot in a third-set super-tiebreaker to add some insurance to the lead. After Lynch took the first (6-2), Tzou came right back in the second. The two exchanged countless groundstrokes on numerous points in the second, with Tzou able to squeeze out a 7-5 victory. Lynch then took control late in the breaker to take the No. 3 point for Penn State (10-8).
Sophomore Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) ousted Jeff Friedman in the sixth singles match (7-5, 6-2) to seal the Lions' second straight 7-0 sweep.
Action will continue in Flushing Meadows on Sunday. The semifinals slated for Sunday morning. The tournament finals will take place on Monday morning, with the champion garnering a berth into the ITA Men's National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle, Wash., in February.
Final Score: Penn State 7, Dartmouth 0
Doubles:
1. #36 Michael James/Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Mark Brodie/Stephen Greif (DARTMOUTH), 8-4
2. James Dwyer/Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Jeff Schechtman/Dan Freeman (DARTMOUTH), 8-6
3. Brendan Lynch/Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Curtis Roby/David Fink (DARTMOUTH), 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles:
1. #35 Michael James (PSU) def. Mark Brodie (DARTMOUTH), 6-4, 6-1
2. Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Dan Freeman (DARTMOUTH), 6-1, 7-5
3. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Justin Tzou (DARTMOUTH), 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8)
4. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Curtis Roby (DARTMOUTH), 6-0, 6-2
5. James Dwyer (PSU) def. Stephen Greif (DARTMOUTH), 6-3, 6-3
6. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Jeff Friedman (DARTMOUTH), 7-5, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 5, 3, 6