April 9, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After a weekend split on the road, the 47th-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (13-9, 4-3) recorded a pair of dominant 7-0 sweeps against Bucknell (8-7) and Bloomsburg (10-4) on Wednesday at Sarni Tennis Center.
First up, the Lions jumped all over Bucknell in doubles action to take a 1-0 lead. After rain sent the match indoors, the Nittany Lions failed to drop a set in singles action, which sealed the 7-0 win against the Bison. In the second match of the day against Bloomsburg, the threat of rain sent the singles bouts on court first. Penn State once again tallied six straight-sets victories over the Huskies. Rain sent the doubles bouts into the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. The Lions clinched the overall sweep with three victories in doubles action. With the win over Bloomsburg, second-year head coach Todd Doebler is now 2-0 against his alma mater.
Match One: Bucknell
The Nittany Lions took a 1-0 lead against Bucknell with a doubles sweep. At No. 2, James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) ousted the Bucknell team of Anton Kovic and Jonathan Brenner by a score of 8-4 to give the Lions an early edge. Dwyer and Bourchier are now 4-3 in duals this spring.
The Lion duo of Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Jake Toole (Sharon, Mass.) defeated Bucknell's Ben Young and Zach Hascoe by a score of 8-2 at the No. 3 slot to clinch the doubles marker for Penn State. With the win, Gormley and Toole also improved to 4-3 in duals this spring.
Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and Chris Sherman (Edina, Minn.) clinched the doubles sweep with an 8-5 triumph over the Bison team of Ira Reibeisen and Ryan Sandburg at the No. 1 spot.
After a brief shower, the two teams headed indoors for the singles portion of the match. Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions picked up right where they left off as they put together six convincing singles victories. Bourchier downed Hascoe at No. 3 by a score of 6-3, 6-1 to give the Lions a 2-0 lead in the match. With the victory Bourchier became the third Nittany Lion this season to have won 20 singles matches. The Australian freshman is 20-11 in his first year at Penn State.
Slagter ousted Reibeisen by a score of 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 1 match, which put Penn State up by a score of 3-0. Slagter is now 11-9 overall this spring, including an 8-6 mark in duals. He has won six of his last eight singles matches.
Junior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) clinched the Penn State victory with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sandburg in the No. 2 match.
With the match decided, Gormley knocked off Kovic in the No. 5 singles clash by a 7-5, 6-4 margin. Freshman Jamie Cox (Acworth, Ga.) tallied a dominating victory over Bucknell's Mark Malloy at No. 6 (6-2, 6-2). Sophomore Guillaume St-Maurice St-Eustache, Quebec) clinched the 7-0 sweep of Bucknell with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Brenner at the No. 4 spot.
Final Score: #47 Penn State 7, Bucknell 0
Doubles:
1. Adam Slagter/Chris Sherman (PSU) def. Ira Reibeisen/Ryan Sandburg (BUCKNELL), 8-5
2. James Dwyer/Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Anton Kovic/Jonathan Brenner (BUCKNELL), 8-4
3. Ryan Gormley/Jake Toole (PSU) def. Ben Young/Zach Hascoe (BUCKNELL), 8-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles:
1. Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Ira Reibeisen (BUCKNELL), 6-4, 6-4
2. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Ryan Sandburg (BUCKNELL), 6-2, 6-1
3. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Zach Hascoe (BUCKNELL), 6-3, 6-1
4. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Jonathan Brenner (BUCKNELL), 6-3, 6-4
5. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Anton Kovic (BUCKNELL), 7-5, 6-4
6. Jamie Cox (PSU) def. Mark Malloy (BUCKNELL), 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 5, 6, 5
Match Two: Bloomsburg
In the nightcap of the day, the threat of precipitation sent the six singles matches on court first at Sarni Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions dropped just 10 games in 12 total sets on their way to the singles sweep. St-Maurice gave Penn State a 1-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Bloomsburg's Mitch Zenaty. St-Maurice is now 12-6 overall and 9-3 in duals this season.
Penn State took a 2-0 lead after Gormley knocked off Bloomsburg's Jeff Nuhfer by a 6-0, 6-1 count in the No. 4 singles match. The Lin sophomore owns a 17-10 overall record in his second season as a Nittany Lion.
Lynch gave Penn State a 3-0 lead with a straight-sets victory over Dan Gal at No. 1. After trailing 1-0 in the opening set, Lynch rattled off 12 of the final 13 games of the match to secure the 6-1, 6-1 victory over Gal. Lynch now owns a stout 25-8 overall record this year.
The Nittany Lions clinched the overall match after Cox's 6-1, 6-0 dominating straight-sets victory over Bloomsburg's Dan Glubo in the No. 5 contest. Cox is now 9-3 overall and a perfect 5-0 in dual matches in his first season at Penn State.
Toole posted his second victory of the day at No. 6 with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph against Bloomsburg's Daniel Phillips. Dwyer knocked off Fernando Perez at No. 2 by a score of 6-1, 6-2, which sealed the singles shutout for Penn State.
Penn State capped off the evening with three victories in doubles action against Bloomsburg. Cox and Gormley teamed up to defeat the Husky team of Nuhfer and Phillips by a score of 8-1.
Toole and St-Maurice clinched the 7-0 victory for the Lions with an 8-4 victory at No. 2 against the Bloomsburg team made up of Ryan Chow and Zenaty. Bourchier and Sherman ousted Gal and Perez of Bloomsburg, 9-8 (6), at No. 1 to solidify the doubleheader sweep.
Penn State will now shift its attention back to the Big Ten. The Lions will return home on Saturday with a noon match against No. 73 Michigan State. The bout with the Spartans will cap off the 2008 home schedule for the Nittany Lions. The match will take place at Sarni Tennis Center and admission is free.
Final Score: #47 Penn State 7, Bloomsburg 0
Doubles:
1. Eddie Bourchier/Chris Sherman (PSU) def. Dan Gal/Fernando Perez (BLOOM), 9-8 (6)
2. Guillaume St-Maurice/Jake Toole (PSU) def. Ryan Chow/Mitch Zenaty (BLOOM), 8-4
3. Ryan Gormley/Jamie Cox (PSU) def. Jeff Nuhfer/Daniel Phillips (BLOOM), 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
1. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Dan Gal (BLOOM), 6-1, 6-1
2. James Dwyer (PSU) def. Fernando Perez (BLOOM), 6-1, 6-2
3. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Mitch Zenaty (BLOOM), 6-1, 6-0
4. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Jeff Nuhfer (BLOOM), 6-0, 6-1
5. Jamie Cox (PSU) def. Ryan Glubo (BLOOM), 6-1, 6-0
6. Jake Toole (PSU) def. Daniel Phillips (BLOOM), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 1, 5, 6, 2