Jan. 18, 2008
Penn State Match Notes vs. Notre Dame
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After one of the best fall seasons in program history, the Nittany Lion men's tennis team will kick off its regular season on Sunday by traveling to South Bend, Ind., to take on the 12th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The first serve is slated for noon on Sunday at Eck Tennis Pavilion on the Notre Dame campus. Fans can follow live scoring through the Live Stats link from the men's tennis page on www.und.com.
Second-year head coach Todd Doebler heads back to familiar territory after spending four seasons in South Bend prior to accepting the head coaching position at Penn State. Doebler worked under Notre Dame head coach Bob Bayliss from 2002-06.
While in South Bend, Doebler helped the Irish move into the elite ranks of men's intercollegiate tennis. In his final year at Notre Dame, Doebler helped the Irish finish No. 17 in the ITA poll, defeat 14 ranked teams and advance to the Big East Conference Championship Finals. Doebler also served as recruiting coordinator, as well as a liaison to the strength and conditioning coaches while at Notre Dame.
"We are very excited to be able to start the year off against a program like Notre Dame," said Doebler. "Notre Dame is traditionally a Top 25 program, and coached by one of the best in the business. This will be a great opportunity to see where we are at this early in the season. It will be fun to go back to Notre Dame, but the match is more about two very competitive teams, both of which will fight and play with a lot of energy."
Coming off a strong fall season, senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.), who is ranked 51st in the ITA national rankings, posted a 15-4 record during the latter stages of 2007. In doing so, the Lion senior manufactured the best fall season of his career, which included trips to the ITA All American Tennis Championships and ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. James also picked up his first career singles crown by rolling through the ITA Northeast Regional Championship draw.
Junior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) brings an 11-3 mark into the spring season, while freshman Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) begins the dual season with a 10-4 record.
The bout with Notre Dame marks the first official dual match for the Nittany Lions since their battle with Pepperdine in the NCAA Championships in May. The Waves ousted Penn State by a score of 4-1 on the campus of USC in Los Angeles. Penn State finished last season with a 16-7 overall record following the loss.
The 12th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter the 2008 season off a 2007 campaign that saw them reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Championships for the seventh time in program history before falling to USC, 4-3. Notre Dame went 26-4 in 2007, won its seventh Big East Championship and finished sixth in the national rankings. Nonetheless, the Irish lost the most successful senior class in school history.
Senior Sheeva Parbhu and junior Brett Helgeson will lead the Notre Dame attack at the top of the lineup. Parbhu was an ITA All-American in 2005 and '06. He recorded a 29-12 record last season, and comes into the 2008 dual season with a 104-32 overall record.
Helgeson, who is ranked 11th in the singles poll, is coming off a 13-1 fall, which included knocking off No. 2 Steven Moneke from Ohio State. Helgeson holds a 54-18 overall career record, and went 31-7 last season. Senior Andrew Roth is the other returning starter for Notre Dame.
Penn State will open up its home schedule next weekend with a doubleheader slated for Sat., Jan. 26 at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Penn State will take on Binghamton at 10 a.m., followed by St. Joseph's at 3 p.m. on Saturday.