Jan. 22, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Following a very successful fall season, the Penn State men's tennis team will open up the 2010 season on Sunday with two home matches vs. Princeton and Lehigh.
The Nittany Lions will begin with Princeton on Sunday at noon followed by Lehigh at 5 p.m. Both matches will take place at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.
"We are really excited to open the season with Princeton and Lehigh this weekend," said Penn State head coach Todd Doebler. "We are looking forward to getting the season going with a match against a talented Princeton team. Princeton is much better than most people think. We are ready and looking forward to a tough match against the Tigers.
Penn State Begins Season Ranked 54th in ITA National Rankings
Penn State opens the 2010 spring season ranked 54th in the ITA Men's National Team Rankings. The Nittany Lions are coming off last season where they finished at 55th in the rankings. Penn State has another strong schedule this season as they face eight opponents that are ranked in the ITA Top 75 computer preseason rankings.
Additionally, junior Eddie Bourchier opens the season slated at 14th in the Atlantic Region singles rankings. Bourchier also made the doubles rankings as he and sophomore Jason Lee are fifth in the Atlantic region. Also, freshman Warren Hardie and senior Ryan Gormley are ranked ninth in the region.
Nittany Lions Complete a Stellar Fall Season
The Nittany Lions just completed their fall season, going a combined 41-33 in singles action and 26-9 in doubles action. Penn State recently had a strong showing at the Big Ten Indoors. Lee and Bourchier won the Flight "A" doubles bracket while senior Guillaume St-Maurice and sophomore Taylor Cohen won the Flight "B" doubles bracket. Lee reached the semifinals in singles action.
Scouting Princeton
The Tigers head to Happy Valley to open their 2010 season slate. Princeton finished 11-10 overall last season with a 3-4 record in the Ivy League. The Tigers return eight players from last year's team, but lost four seniors, including 2009 All-Ivy honorees Peter Capkovic and Alex Vuckovic.
Penn State-Princeton
Penn State holds a 3-13 record all-time vs. the Tigers. This will be the first time the Nittany Lions square off with Princeton since March 7, 1998, when Penn State downed the Tigers, 5-2. Princeton's last victory over Penn State came on April 10, 1996, in a 5-2 victory.
Scouting Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks' are returning their top player from the 2009 season in Troy List. A two-time All-Patriot League selection, List led the Mountain Hawks with 14 wins in the No. 1 bout last season. In doubles, the Mountain Hawks return their top two teams from last year in List and Collin Laffey and Arnaldo Pacheco and Cameron Silbert.
Penn State-Lehigh
Penn State is 22-19 all-time vs. Lehigh. The Nittany Lions have won the last nine matches of the series, including a 7-0 clawing last year. Lehigh last defeated Penn State on May 14, 1969 in a close 5-2 win.
What's Next?
The Nittany Lions will head to the Gainesville, Fla. next weekend for the ITA Team Indoor Qualifiers. Penn State will take on No. 43 Georgia Tech on Jan. 30. The Lions will face either No. 11 Florida or No. 61 Furman in the following round on Jan. 31. The Nittany Lions return home on Feb. 7 with a doubleheader vs. Maryland and Bloomsburg.