April 17, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team extended its win streak to 3 matches on Friday, after upsetting the 30th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, 5-2. Penn State improves to 4-5 in the Big Ten and will look to even its record up in the season finale on Sunday vs. Northwestern.
The Nittany Lions dominated the match from the beginning, clinching the doubles point with victories in all three bouts. From there, Penn State won four of the six singles matches, en route to a 5-2 victory. The Lions are now 7-13 all-time vs. Wisconsin.
In doubles action, junior Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and sophomore Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) faced Wisconsin's Patrick Pohlmann and Luke Rassow-Kantor in the No. 2 doubles bout. The Lions jumped out to a 3-2 lead and never looked back, winning the final five games to secure their match, 8-2.
The doubles point was clinched in the No. 1 bout, when senior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and freshman Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) upset the 19th-ranked pairing of Moritz Bauman and Marek Michalicka. With Slagter and Lee trailing 7-6, they battled back to win the next three games and garner the 9-7 victory. With the doubles victory, Slagter moved into second place in program history with the most career doubles victories, notching his 69th. Slagter trails Michael James for first place, who had 73 on his career.
With the doubles point already decided, senior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac), Md. and junior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) defeated Michael Dierberger and Michael Muskievicz in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (2).
With Penn State leading 1-0, the match moved on to singles action. St-Maurice gave the Lions a 2-0 advantage as he defeated Muskievicz in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. The Penn State junior was trailing 2-1 in the first set, but from there he never was behind the rest of the match.
Wisconsin got on the board, when the 50th-ranked Michalicka defeated Slagter in the No. 2 bout, 6-2, 6-3. Michalicka had a 3-0 lead in the first set and never looked back from there. The second set was a little more interesting early, when Slagter trailed, 3-2. However, Michalicka won three of the next four games to win the match and give Wisconsin a point. Penn State led, 2-1.
Penn State came closer to a victory after Bourchier defeated Peter Marrack in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Bourchier was dominant, as he breezed through the first set. Leading 2-1 in the second set, Bourchier won the final four games to win his match and give Penn State its third point.
Just as the Lions had the momentum, Wisconsin kept on fighting. Lee had a tough day on court No. 3 with Pohlmann, losing in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Penn State had a 3-2 lead and that would be all for Wisconsin.
The match was clinched in the No. 6 matchup featuring Gormley and Dierberger. In the first set, Gormley found himself trailing 5-4. However, the Las Vegas native fought back to win the next three games and stole the set from Dierberger, 7-5. Gormley carried his momentum over into the second set, where he never trailed, winning 6-4 and clinching the upset victory for Penn State. With the match clinched, there was still plenty more to cheer about over on court No. 1.
Lynch went into one of his most difficult matchups all season long, as he faced the 28th-ranked Bauman. Bauman entered the match with a 22-0 record, going 16-0 in the No. 1 bout. Lynch trailed 4-2 midway through the first set, but battled back to force a tiebreaker. In the breaker, the senior captain trailed 5-4, but won the final three points to claim the first set. Lynch jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set but was unable to hold on, losing 6-4. That forced a third set tiebreaker. Lynch won the tiebreaker, 10-4, and posted the big upset.
Penn State's season finale is this Sunday at 10 a.m. vs. No. 44 Northwestern at Sarni Tennis Center. The Big Ten Tournament start date is slated for April 23.
Final Score: #65 Penn State 5 def. #30 Wisconsin 2
Doubles
1. Jason Lee/Adam Slagter (PSU) def. #19 Moritz Bauman/Marek Michalicka (Wis.), 9-7
2. Eddie Bourchier/Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Patrick Pohlmann/Luke Rassow-Kantor (Wis.), 8-2
3. Brendan Lynch/Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Michael Dierberger/Michael Muskievicz (Wis.), 9-8 (2)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. #28 Moritz Bauman (Wis.), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 1-0 (10-4)
2. #50 Marek Michalicka (Wis.) def. Adam Slagter (PSU), 6-2, 6-3
3. Patrick Pohlmann (Wis.) def. Jason Lee (PSU), 6-2, 6-2
4. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Peter Marrack (Wis.), 6-2, 6-1
5. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Michael Muskievicz (Wis.), 6-3, 6-3
6. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Michael Dierberger (Wis.), 7-5, 6-4
Order of finish: 5, 2, 4, 3, 6, 1