Oct. 22, 2007
PRINCETON, N.J. - Top-seeded senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) used three sets to advance into the singles semifinals, but the Nittany Lion doubles team of Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) and Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) stole the show as they marched into the doubles finals at the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northeast Regional Championships on Monday.
Lynch and Gormley remained sweltering hot on Monday with a pair of victories in the doubles draw. First up was an 8-5 win over the 16th-seeded St. John's team of Alex Svetlakov and Artem Vlasenko in the quarterfinals.
Lynch and Gormley then took on the fifth-seeded team of Brown's Chris Lee and Basudev Ratnum in the semis. The Lion duo jumped out to a 6-2 lead before Brown made a run. Nonetheless, Lynch and Gormley served out the match, 8-5, to earn a spot in the doubles final on Tuesday at 11 a.m. They will meet No. 7 seed Bogdan Borta and Justin Chow of Columbia. Lynch and Gormley take an 8-1 record into the finals.
The doubles champion will garner a berth into the National Intercollegiate Tennis Championships in November.
In the quarterfinals of the singles draw, James took a tight first set, 7-5, against No. 8 seed Mark Clemente from Columbia. Clemente came right back in the second with a 6-4 victory to square the match. In the decisive third set, James won going away, 6-1, to advance into Tuesday's semifinals. James will face Dartmouth's Mark Brodie on Tuesday at 9 a.m. The Nittany Lion senior defeated Brodie (6-4, 6-1) earlier this fall in the Lions' quarterfinal bout with Dartmouth at the ECAC Championships.
The singles finalists of the ITA regional tournaments earn a spot in the National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. Therefore, the winner of the semifinal match will garner a trip to Columbus from Nov. 1-4.
Action will close on Tuesday at Princeton. In singles, the semifinals and the tournament finals will take place. In doubles play, the tournament finals set for Tuesday.
For more information on the ITA Northeast Regional Championships, log on to www.itatennis.com.
Wilson/ITA Northeast Regional Championships - October 22, 2007
Singles
Quarterfinals:
(#1) No. 35 Michael James (PSU) def. (#8) Mark Clemente (COLUMBIA), 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
*Seed number in parenthesis
Doubles
Quarterfinals:
Brendan Lynch/Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. (#16) Alex Svetlakov/Artem Vlasenko (ST JOHNS), 8-5
Semifinals:
Brendan Lynch/Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. (#5) Chris Lee/Basudev Ratnum (BROWN), 8-5
*Seed number in parenthesis