Jan. 31, 2010
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Penn State men's tennis team (2-1, 0-0) had a difficult 4-2 setback to the 39th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets late on Saturday night and into Sunday morning at ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Gainesville. Following a delay of nearly eight hours due to bad weather, the Nittany Lions hit the courts around 10 p.m. With the loss, Penn State will square off with Furman on Sunday at noon.
The match consisted of singles action only as the Yellow Jackets cranked out victories in four of the six matches. Due to the delay, the teams agreed to start play with singles and only continue into doubles play if necessary. Junior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and freshman Warren Hardie (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) each picked up victories for the Nittany Lions.
Despite the loss, Penn State battled hard the entire night. Hardie sparked the Nittany Lions early as he downed Georgia Tech's Dean O'Brien in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. With the victory, Hardie improved to 2-0 on the season in singles action. With Penn State leading 1-0, Georgia Tech came back and tied it up when Magin Ortiga defeated Penn State freshman Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas), 6-1, 6-2.
The Yellow Jackets grabbed a 2-1 lead when Eliot Potvin downed sophomore Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0. Just as Georgia Tech was carrying momentum, Bourchier quickly brought it to a halt, earning a big 6-3, 6-1 victory over Juan Spir in the No. 2 bout. The match was tied at two.
In the No. 1 match up, senior captain Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) had the difficult task of facing the fourth-ranked player in the country in Guillermo Gomez. After losing the first set, Gormley came back and battled to force a tiebreaker in the second set. Gomez however went on to win the tiebreaker and the match, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
The match was clinched in the No. 5 bout when senior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) lost to Dusan Milievic in three sets. St-Maurice downed the 112th-ranked Milievic in the first set, 6-2. However, the Yellow Jacket came back to win the final two sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Following the matchup with Furman tomorrow, the Nittany Lions will return to Happy Valley next Sunday, Feb. 7 for a doubleheader match up with Bloomsburg and Maryland. Penn State will kick-off the day with a noon dual vs. the Terrapins followed by a 5 p.m. battle with the Huskies. The two matches on the 7th will be the beginning of an eight-match homestand. The Nittany Lions open up Big Ten play on March 7 at home vs. Purdue. Admission to all Penn State home matches is free.
Final Score: #39 Georgia Tech 4 Penn State 2
Singles
1. #4 Guillermo Gomez (GT) def. Ryan Gormley (PSU), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
2. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Juan Spir (GT), 6-3, 6-1
3. Eliot Potvin (GT) def. Jason Lee (PSU), 6-4, 6-0
4. Warren Hardie (PSU) def. Dean O'Brien (GT), 6-3, 6-3
5. #112 Dusan Miljevic (GT) def. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. Magin Ortiga (GT) def. Bryaon Welnetz (PSU), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 6, 3, 2, 1, 5