September 7, 2007
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After advancing to the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in program history in May, the Penn State men's tennis team will return to the court at the University of Virginia Fall Classic on Sept. 14 as part of their five-event fall schedule.
In head coach Todd Doebler's first season at the helm, the Nittany Lions finished 43rd in the final ITA National Team Rankings after compiling a 16-7 overall record. Penn State will hit the court in Charlottesville looking to build on the 2006-07 success.
The UVA Fall Classic will kick off the fall campaign with three days of action in Charlottesville from Sept. 14-16. Following the trip to Virginia, the Nittany Lions will travel to Flushing Meadows, N.Y., for the 2007 ECAC Championships from Sept. 28-Oct. 1. An invitation to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February will be on the line in New York. The champion of the ECAC Championship receives an automatic berth into the National Team Indoor Championships.
Coming off a stellar junior season, senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) earned a slot in the prestigious Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championship in Tulsa, Okla., which runs from Oct. 4-7. James will compete in the 64-player main draw with the nation's elite collegiate players. James and junior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) also earned a coveted spot in the main draw of the 32-team doubles tournament in Tulsa.
The ITA Northeast Regional Championships is next on the fall slate. This tournament will feature a singles and doubles draw, with finalists in singles competition qualifying into the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio (Nov. 1-4). The doubles champions will also earn a spot at the Indoor Championships. The Northeast Regional Championships will take place in Princeton, N.J., from Oct. 18-23.
The Nittany Lions will closeout the fall schedule with a trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Big Ten Individual Championship from Nov. 9-11.
Penn State returns eight players from its 2007 campaign, including seniors James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.), Chris Sherman (Edina, Minn.) and James. Also, four talented freshmen joined the Nittany Lions when fall practice kicked off.