Jan. 14, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team will kick off the 2009 season with a No. 38 ranking in the ITA men's team rankings, which were released by the ITA on Jan. 6. The ranking is the highest preseason ranking in the program's history.
"Our goal is to continue to try to achieve new levels each and every year for our program," said head coach Todd Doebler. "We have a great schedule this year so we will see if we can again be playing our best tennis at the end of the year."
The ITA preseason team rankings consist of five Big Ten teams in the Top 50, including three in the Top 20. Big Ten foe Ohio State is No. 1 in the rankings.
In the ITA Northeast Region singles rankings, senior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) is ranked No. 5. Lynch finished this fall with a 4-5 record in singles competition, which included a trip to the All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., that features some of the country's top collegiate players.
Sophomore Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) enters this season ranked 16th in the Northeast Region. Bourchier, who had a stellar freshman campaign for the Nittany Lions, went 3-3 in fall action. Junior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) and freshman Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) begin the season ranked No. 18 and No. 20, respectively in the region.
In the ITA Doubles Northeast Region rankings, Bourchier and Lee lead the way for Penn State ranked fourth. The pair finished an impressive 3-1 in fall competition. In addition, the pairing of junior Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and freshman Chris Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) are slated at No. 15 to start the season.
The Nittany Lions will take face a stacked schedule of ranked opponents this year. Penn State will face at least five teams that are ranked in the top 25 this year. In addition, the Lions will take on five Big Ten foes that are ranked in the top 50.
Penn State kicks of the 2009 season on Jan. 18 at North Carolina State at noon. The first home match-up will come Saturday Jan. 24, as Penn State will take on St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph's in a doubleheader at the Penn State Tennis Center. The 38th-ranked Nittany Lions are looking to earn their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.