April 12, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Following a rough 7-0 loss to Illinois, the Penn State men's tennis team faced a difficult 4-3 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday. Penn State had a 3-2 lead, but was unable to hold on. Penn State drops to 10-11 this season and 3-5 in the Big Ten.
Penn State came out and won the doubles point to gain an early 1-0 advantage. However, Indiana fought back to tie the score at three. The match was decided in the No. 1 matchup between senior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) and the 85th-ranked Lachlan Ferguson. Lynch took the first set, 7-6 (8-6) and had the early edge. However, Lachlan stormed back to win the final two sets to win the match for Indiana.
In doubles action, Lynch and junior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) were downed by Indiana's Lachlan Ferguson and Stephen Vogl, 8-3. Lynch and St-Maurice fell behind early, 3-1, and had a difficult time catching up. Senior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and freshman Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) knocked off Santiago Gruter and Jeremy Langer, 8-5, in the No. 1 doubles bout. Slagter and Lee jumped out to an early 5-2 advantage. From there, the Lion tandem won three of the final six games to win the match. The doubles point would then be determined in the No. 3 bout.
Junior Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and sophomore Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) clinched the doubles point for the Nittany Lions, as they defeated the Hoosiers' Will Kendall and Maxime Armengaud, 8-1. Bourchier and Gormley came out and dominated, leading 5-0 early.
With Penn State leading 1-0, the match moved on to singles action. Indiana tied the match back up at one when Armengaud defeated Bourchier in the No. 4 matchup, 6-1, 7-6. Armengaud dominated the first set, but found himself down 5-2 in the second set. However, he came back and won the tiebreaker set to earn a point for the Hoosiers.
Penn State got back on the board though when St-Maurice defeated Kendall in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. St-Maurice led 3-2 early in the first set. He went on to win three of the next four games to take a one set advantage on Kendall. From there, he had no problem in the second set, to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead.
Indiana tied it back up though, when Vogl downed freshman Chris Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. After a nice first set win for Hasyn, the freshman struggled to hold his ground in the final two sets. After Vogl won the second set, Hasyn found himself down 3-0 early in the third set. Vogl won three of the next four games to win the third set and the match.
The back and forth match continued, when Slagter stepped up earned an impressive three set victory over Gruter, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6, which was thought to have given the Nittany Lions some momentum. After being outplayed in the first set, Slagter marched back in the second set to win 6-1. With the score being 6-6 in the third set, Slagter won the tiebreaker to win his match and putting the Lions in position to clinch the match point.
Indiana never gave in though, as Langer downed Lee in three sets, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2. After losing in the tiebreaker during the first set, Langer came back and won the final two sets to tie the match at three, leading to Ferguson's victory over Lynch.
Penn State returns to Happy Valley on Wednesday with a doubleheader against Bucknell and Bloomsburg.
Final Score: #53 Indiana 4 def. #61 Penn State 3
Doubles
1. Jason Lee/Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Santiago Gruter/Jeremy Langer (Ind.), 8-5
2. Lachlan Ferguson/Stephen Vogl (Ind.) def. Brendan Lynch/Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU), 8-3
3. Eddie Bourchier/Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Will Kendall/Maxime Armengaud (Ind.), 8-1
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. #85 Lachlan Ferguson (Ind.) def. Brendan Lynch (PSU), 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-2
2. Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Santiago Gruter (Ind.), 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3)
3. Jeremy Langer (Ind.) def. Jason Lee (PSU), 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-2
4. Maxime Armengaud (Ind.) def. Eddie Bouchier (PSU), 6-1, 7-6 (7-0)
5. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Will Kendall (Ind.), 6-3, 6-2
6. Stephen Vogl (Ind.) def. Chris Hasyn (PSU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 4, 5, 6, 2, 3, 1