March 28, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After back-to-back tough losses over the weekend, the 51st-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (8-8, 2-2) recorded a pair of convincing victories over Big Ten foe Minnesota (6-1) and Lehigh (7-0) on Friday at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.
In the Minnesota match, Penn State scored the doubles point, but the Golden Gophers (2-13, 0-3) then tied the score at 1-1. However, the Nittany Lions rolled to five consecutive singles victories to set the final score at 6-1. The match featured four three-set singles battles, with the Lions picking up victories in three. The Lions then rolled to a 7-0 triumph in the second match of the doubleheader against Lehigh (4-7). Penn State did not drop a set in the contest against the Mountain Hawks.
"All in all, it was good day," said head coach Todd Doebler. "I was glad to see our guys step up at key points in the Minnesota match. It was good that everyone got to play, and now we turn our attention to a match against a very good Iowa team."
Match One: Penn State vs. Minnesota
The Nittany Lions claimed a 1-0 lead in the match after scoring a pair of victories in doubles action. Senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) and junior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.), who are ranked 34th in the ITA doubles rankings, improved a perfect 11-0 this spring with a convincing 8-1 victory over Minnesota's Chi-Lang Pham and Tobias Wernet at No. 1.
At No. 2, the Golden Gopher team of Dino Bilankov and Sebastian Gallego scored a break in the fifth game of the pro-set to take a 3-2 lead. Penn State's team of junior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) sophomore Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) attempted to rally back, but the Gopher team remained flawless in its service game, and went on to score an 8-5 victory.
Senior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and freshman Eddie Bourchier ousted Minnesota's duo of Derek Peterson and Raoul Schwark by an 8-4 margin to clinch the doubles point for the Nittany Lions. While trailing 6-3, the Golden Gopher team secured a break in its attempt to get back into the match. Nevertheless, Dwyer and Bourchier slammed the door with a break in the very next game on their way to the 8-4 triumph.
With Penn State up 1-0, the matched turned to singles action. Minnesota knotted the score at 1-1 after Wernet notched a three-set victory at the No. 2 spot over Slagter. Slagter jumped out to a one-set lead by cruising to a 6-2 victory. However, Wernet came storming back in the second. The Gopher freshman cruised to a 6-1 victory, sending the match into a third set. Slagter snagged an early break, but Wernet rallied to score the No. 2 point with a 7-5 victory.
From there, the Nittany Lions took control, as they clawed to five straight victories in singles action. Lynch rallied from a set down and battled his way to a clutch 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Gallego. With the match tied at one set apiece, Lynch scored a pivotal service break in the fourth game of the final set to set the score at 2-2. The Lion junior secured a second break late in the set to notch the No. 3 point, which gave Penn State a 2-1 lead in the overall match.
Dwyer set the score at 3-1, in favor of the Nittany Lions with a three-set win over Pham at the No. 4 spot in the lineup. After claiming the first (6-4), Dwyer lost a tough tiebreaker in the second (7-6 (3)). Nonetheless, the Lion senior snagged a break in the first game of the decisive set and did not look back, as he cruised to a 6-2 victory.
James, who is ranked 52nd in the ITA singles rankings, clinched the overall match with a hard-fought three-set victory over Schwark at No. 1. James and Schwark battled in long rallies of groundstrokes for much of the three-set affair. The Nittany Lion senior took a one-set lead with a 6-4 victory in the first. Schwark took advantage of key opportunities in the second, and ultimately sent the match into a third and final set. James clinched the match with a break in the 10th game of a competitive third (6-4).
With the match decided, the Nittany Lions added insurance points at the fifth and sixth singles spot. Bourchier rolled over Bilankov by a score of 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5, which set the match score at 5-1. Sophomore Guillaume St-Maurice (St-Eustache, Quebec) was leading Pierre Dumas by a score of 5-2 in the first when Dumas retired with a foot injury.
Final Score: #51 Penn State 6, Minnesota 1
Doubles:
1. #34 Brendan Lynch/Michael James (PSU) def. Chi-Lang Pham/Tobias Wernet (MINN), 8-1
2. Dino Bilankov/Sebastian Gallego (MINN) def. Adam Slagter/Ryan Gormley (PSU), 8-5
3. Eddie Bourchier/James Dwyer (PSU) def. Derek Peterson/Raoul Schwark (MINN), 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles:
1. #52 Michael James (PSU) def. Raoul Schwark (MINN), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
2. Tobias Wernet (MINN) def. Adam Slagter (PSU), 2-6, 6-1, 7-5
3. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Sebastian Gallego (MINN), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. James Dwyer (PSU) def. Dino Bilankov (MINN), 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2
5. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Chi-Lang Pham (MINN), 6-1, 6-1
6. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Pierre Dumas (MINN), 5-2, ret.
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6
Match Two: Penn State vs. Lehigh
After the Minnesota match, the Nittany Lions returned to the court to take on Lehigh. Penn State struck first with a clean sweep in doubles action. Slagter and senior Chris Sherman (Edina, Minn.) ousted Lehigh's Troy List and John Nespoli at the No. 1 spot by a score of 8-5.
Bourchier and freshman Jake Toole (Sharon, Mass.) downed the Lehigh team of Robert Bolcar and Brent Herbert by an 8-2 margin at the No. 2 spot, which clinched the point for the Lions.
Gormley paired with sophomore David Bortner (State College, Pa.) at the No. 3 spot. They defeated Arnaldo Pacheco and Cameron Silbert by a score of 8-2 to seal the doubles shutout for the Nittany Lions.
In singles play, St-Maurice rolled to a straight sets victory over Nespoli. After scoring a 6-3 victory in the first, St-Maurice notched a 6-2 victory in the second to secure the No. 1 point for the Nittany Lions.
Gormley downed List at No. 2 in straight sets. The Lion sophomore was down a break early in the first, but rallied to notch the set by a score of 6-3. Gormley capped off the match with a 6-3 victory in the second.
Freshman Jamie Cox (Acworth, Ga.) cruised past Bolcar at the No. 3 spot in the lineup. The Nittany Lion rookie dominated the first, winning 6-1. He finished off the match with a 6-3 victory in the second.
Sherman also recorded a dominating performance at the No. 4 slot in the lineup against Pacheco. Sherman built a 4-1 lead in each of the first two sets on his way to the 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Toole downed Lehigh's Jon-Michael Caminiti by a score of 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5. Bortner finished off the sweep with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Lehigh's Chris Collins in the No. 6 singles bout.
Penn State will host its second doubleheader in three days on Sunday. The Nittany Lions welcome Iowa (10 a.m.) and St Bonaventure (3 p.m.) to Happy Valley.
Final Score: #51 Penn State 7, Lehigh 0
Doubles:
1. Adam Slagter/Chris Sherman (PSU) def. Troy List/John Nespoli (LEHIGH), 8-5
2. Eddie Bourchier/Jake Toole (PSU) def. Robert Bolcar/Brent Herbert (LEHIGH), 8-2
3. Ryan Gormley/David Bortner (PSU) def. Arnaldo Pacheco/Cameron Silbert (LEHIGH), 8-2
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
1. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. John Nespoli (LEHIGH), 6-3, 6-2
2. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Troy List (LEHIGH), 6-3, 6-3
3. Jamie Cox (PSU) def. Robert Bolcar (LEHIGH), 6-1, 6-3
4. Chris Sherman (PSU) def. Arnaldo Pacheco (LEHIGH), 6-3, 6-2
5. Jake Toole (PSU) def. Jon-Michael Caminiti (LEHIGH), 6-1, 6-1
6. David Bortner (PSU) def. Chris Collins (LEHIGH), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1, 2, 5, 6