April 5, 2008
URBANA, Ill. - The No. 43-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (10-9, 3-3) suffered a 5-2 setback at the hands of No. 17 Illinois (12-6, 4-1) on Saturday afternoon at Atkins Tennis Center.
The talented Illinois team clinched a tight doubles point with a pair of victories, and then rode strong singles play at the top of the lineup to oust the Nittany Lions. Despite the setback, Penn State's No. 1 doubles team of senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) and junior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) remained red-hot, as they improved to a perfect 13-0 in dual matches this spring with an 8-4 victory in their bout with the nation's 29th-ranked doubles team.
Illinois jumped out to a quick edge with an 8-2 victory at the No. 2 spot in doubles action. The Illini team of Ruben Gonzales and Marc Spicijaric snagged a 5-2 lead on the Lion duo of junior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and senior Chris Sherman (Edina, Minn.). Gonzales and Spicijaric then cruised to the 8-2 victory.
However, the Nittany Lions came right back with a victory at No. 1. James and Lynch, who are ranked 23rd in the ITA national doubles poll, scored a break in the 11th game of the pro-set to take a 7-4 lead on the 29th-ranked Illinois duo of Billy Heiser and Ryan Rowe. James and Lynch finished off the set with an 8-4 triumph to remain unblemished in dual action this spring. The Lion duo is 5-0 in the Big Ten and has recorded three victories over nationally-ranked teams.
With the point up for grabs, all eyes then turned to the No. 3 doubles battle between Penn State's team of senior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and freshman Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and the Illinois squad made up of Waylon Chin and Brandon Davis. Trailing 4-3, the Illini team scored a service break and won the next two games to take a 5-4 lead. From there Chin and Davis served to the 8-6 victory, clinching the doubles point for Illinois.
After Illinois grabbed a 1-0 lead after a hard-fought doubles point, the match turned to singles play. The Illini scored a 2-0 lead in the overall match with a straight-sets victory at the No. 1 spot in the singles order. Gonzales, who is ranked 90th in the nation, downed James by a score of 6-1, 6-4. James falls to 23-12 on the year.
Heiser handed Illinois a commanding 3-0 lead with a straight-sets triumph over Lynch in the No. 3 bout. Lynch fell into a quick 3-0 hole in the first set and could not rally back. The Lion junior held a 2-1 lead early in the second, but Heiser sealed the point for Illinois with a 6-4 victory. Lynch drops to 22-8 on the year, including a 4-2 mark in the Big Ten.
Penn State got on the board when Bourchier notched a convincing straight-sets victory over Spicijaric at No. 4. Bourchier notched three of the final four games of the first set to score an early lead (6-4). In the second, the Nittany Lion rookie jumped out to a 4-1 lead on his way to ousting Spicijaric by a score of 6-3, which set the overall match score at 3-1, in favor of the Illini.
Nevertheless, Illinois came right back and clinched the overall match win with a three-set victory in the No. 5 singles match. Chin took a one-set victory over Dwyer with a 6-4 win in the first. The Lion senior squared the match with a 6-3 triumph in the second, but Chin rallied back in the third to give Illinois its fourth overall match point by notching the set, 6-3. Dwyer is now 7-3 in duals this spring.
Slagter went toe-to-toe with Rowe, who is ranked 12th in the ITA national singles rankings, in the No. 2 match. The Nittany Lion southpaw took a one-set advantage by edging Rowe (7-5) in the first. Rowe stormed to a 5-1 lead in the second before knotting the match at one set apiece (6-2). In a tight third, the Illini senior ousted Slagter by a score of 6-4, which handed Illinois a 5-1 overall lead.
At No. 6, Sophomore Guillaume St-Maurice (St-Eustache, Quebec) rallied to a victory after being a set down to Illinois' Abe Souza. After Souza won a close first (6-4), St-Maurice squared the match with a 6-4 set victory in the second. The Nittany Lion sophomore went on to win three of the final four games of the decisive set to score the victory (6-3), setting the final match score at 5-2. St-Maurice is now 6-3 in duals this season.
Penn State will now travel to West Lafayette on Sunday for a match against Purdue. The Nittany Lions will meet the Boilermakers at Schwartz Tennis Center at noon. Live scoring from the match will be available at www.purduesports.com or through the link on www.GoPSUsports.com.
Final Score: #17 Illinois 5, #43 Penn State 2
Doubles:
1. #23 Brendan Lynch/Michael James (PSU) def. #29 Billy Heiser/Ryan Rowe (ILL), 8-4
2. Ruben Gonzales/Marc Spicijaric (ILL) def. Adam Slagter/Chris Sherman (PSU), 8-2
3. Waylon Chin/Brandon Davis (ILL) def. Eddie Bourchier/James Dwyer (PSU), 8-6
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
1. #90 Ruben Gonzales (ILL) def. #63 Michael James (PSU), 6-1, 6-4
2. #12 Ryan Rowe (ILL) def. Adam Slagter (PSU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
3. Billy Heiser (ILL) def. Brendan Lynch (PSU), 6-1, 6-4
4. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Marc Spicijaric (ILL), 6-4, 6-3
5. Waylon Chin (ILL) def. James Dwyer (PSU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
6. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Abe Souza (ILL), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6