Feb. 27, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In a dual match that included two come-from-behind three-set victories in singles action, the Penn State men's tennis team (8-1, 0-0) picked up a 6-1 victory over the Cornell Big Red on Saturday at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions will face Lafayette tomorrow on the University Park campus.
Penn State came out and racked up the doubles point, winning two of the three matches to have an early 1-0 lead. From there, the Lions went on to win five of the six singles bouts to secure a 6-1 victory.
The Nittany Lions took an early advantage in doubles competition on court No. 2 when senior Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and freshman Warren Hardie (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) faced Cornell's Jonathan Jaklitsch and Mirza Klis. The Nittany Lion tandem held a 4-1 lead through the first four games but Jaklitsch and Klis cut the lead to two, making the score 5-3. However, Gormley and Hardie came back to win three of the final four games to capture an 8-4 victory.
In the No. 1 bout, junior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and sophomore Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) teamed up against Cornell's Andy Gauthier and Jeremy Feldman. With the match tied at three games apiece, the Big Red tandem went on to win three of the next four games to jump out to a 6-4 lead. Gauthier and Feldman held on to win the match, 8-5.
The doubles point was then clinched in the No. 3 matchup when senior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) and sophomore Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) faced Cornell's Evan Bernstein and Jonathan Fife. The Nittany Lion tandem dominated the match overall, jumping out to a 6-2 lead and eventually winning, 8-4.
With Penn State leading 1-0, the match moved to singles action. In the No. 1 bout, Bourchier took on the Big Red's Jacklitsch. In the first set, Bourchier trailed 2-1 early. However, he went on to win the next five games, to take the first set, 6-2. Riding his own momentum, Bourchier swept the second set, 6-0, and gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 advantage over the Big Red. Over on court No. 2, Cornell cut Penn State's lead to 2-1 as Gauthier defeated Gormley in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
With Penn State carrying a 2-1 lead, Hardie took on Fife in the No. 4 match up which turned out to be a thriller. In the first set, Fife jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Hadie and eventually captured the frame, 6-2. Hardie had a 3-2 advantage in the second set. From there, he went on to win three of the final four games to tie the match up at one set apiece. The match moved to third set, where things did not look good for Hardie early. The freshman standout trailed 5-1 and was facing match point. Hardie had a huge rally though, as he went on to win the next five games, taking a 6-5 lead. Fife won the following game to force a tiebreaker. With the breaker tied at two, Hardie won the next four points to lead 6-2 and eventually win the stanza, 7-3. Hardie's 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Fife gave the Nittany Lions a 3-1 lead over the Big Red.
The match was clinched in the No. 5 bout where freshman Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) defeated Bernstein in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-3. In the first set, Welnetz jumped out to a 3-2 lead and won three of the final four games to capture the first set. In the second set, Bernstein had a 3-2 lead, but Welnetz won the next four games to win the set and the match.
With the match already decided, St-Maurice followed up with a 6-2, 6-2 straight-set victory over Klis in the No. 6 matchup. St-Maurice took control early in the first set as he jumped out to a 4-0 lead to easily garner the frame. In the second set, St-Maurice and Klis were tied at two, but the Nittany Lion senior won the final four games to notch the victory.
On court No. 3, Lee and Feldman had a three-set battle that lasted for nearly three hours. The first set was tied at six and went to a tiebreaker. With the breaker tied at five, Feldman won the next two points to win the first set. With a 4-1 lead for Feldman in the second set, it looked like Lee's day was over. However, the sophomore rallied and won the next five points to claim the second set, 6-4. From there, Lee took his momentum into the third set and ran away to win his third consecutive singles match, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2.
The Nittany Lions will square-off with Lafayette at home tomorrow with the first serve set for 1 p.m. Penn State opens Big Ten season on March 7 with an 11 a.m. match up with Purdue at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Admission to all Penn State home matches is free. The Nittany Lions will head down south on March 11 for a dual with Coastal Carolina.
Final Score: #52 Penn State 6 Cornell 1
Doubles
1. Andy Gauthier and Jeremy Feldman (Cornell) def. Eddie Bourchier/Jason Lee (PSU), 8-5
2. Ryan Gormley/Warren Hardie (PSU) def. Jonathan Jaklitsch/Mirza Klis (Cornell), 8-4
3. Guillaume St-Maurice/Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Evan Bernstein/Jonathan Fife (Cornell), 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Jonathan Jaklitsch (Cornell), 6-2, 6-4
2. Andy Gauthier (Cornell) def. Ryan Gormley (PSU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Jason Lee (PSU) def. Jeremy Feldman (Cornell) 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2
4. Warren Hardie (PSU) def. Jonathan Fife (Cornell), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
5. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Evan Bernstein (Cornell), 6-3, 6-3
6. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Mirza Klis (Cornell), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3