March 4, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team (5-4, 1-0) will look to start the Big Ten season with a program best 2-0 start on Thursday as Lions will face the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes at 3 p.m. at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Ohio State heads to Happy Valley with a 13-1 record on the season, with ten wins coming against ranked opponents.
Last time out, the Nittany Lions traveled to Purdue to take on the Boilermakers in the Big Ten season opener. Strong doubles play and splitting the singles matches gave the netmen a 4-3 victory over Purdue. Penn State earned the doubles point early in the match, winning all three doubles matches. In singles action, senior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) picked up the second point for the Lions as he downed Purdue's Eric Ramos, 6-2, 6-0, in the No. 2 bout. Purdue quickly answered winning the next two singles duals to tie the match at two. However, an Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) victory gave the Lions a 3-2 edge. Junior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) clinched the match for Penn State as he defeated Paul Foley, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Ohio State has won its last five matches, including a 7-0 victory over No. 10 Baylor on Mar. 1. The Buckeyes head into the match with five players nationally ranked in singles competition. Leading the way for the scarlet and gray is senior Brian Koniecko. The sixth-ranked standout is 11-1 overall this season in singles action, including a 9-1 in the No. 1 position. Koniecko was awarded Big Ten player of the week on Feb. 10.
Steven Moneke and Justin Kronauge are ranked No. 4 and No. 20 respectively. Moneke is 13-0 in dual watches this season, with wins coming in the first, second and third bouts. Kronauge is 10-3, including a 7-0 record in the No. 3 position. Balazs Novak is ranked 71st, and holds an 11-1 record in singles competition, with wins coming in the third and fourth positions. Rounding out the Buckeyes in the rankings is 100th-ranked Shuhei Uzawa. Uzawa carries a 10-3 singles record.
In doubles competition, the 43rd-ranked pairing of Moneke and Novak holds a 4-0 record. Moneke also has paired with Koniecko, going 4-0 as well.
In 20 matchups, Penn State is 5-15 all-time against Ohio State. Last season, the then 42nd-ranked Nittany Lions made a trip to Columbus to take on the No. 2 Buckeyes. Ohio State clinched the doubles point, earning two of the three doubles match victories. In singles competition, Ohio State dominated, winning five of the six singles duals, to win the match, 6-1. James Dwyer earned the singles point for the Lions, defeating Shuhei Uzawa, 7-6, 6-7, 1-0. Penn State's last win over Ohio State came in 1999.
Following the matchup with Ohio State, the Nittany Lions will head to College Park, Md. on Sunday Mar. 8 to take on the 74th-ranked Maryland Terrapins in a non-conference match. First serve is set for noon at The Tennis Center at College Park.