March 17, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 44th-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (11-1, 1-0) will travel to Montgomery, Ala. Thursday to begin competition in the annual Blue Gray Tennis Classic. The Nittany Lions are slated to face No. 54 Oklahoma State at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday and will play the winner of Harvard and Texas Tech on Friday. All of the matches can be followed via a live stats link on GoPSUSports.com.
Last Time Out: Penn State increased its winning streak to nine matches with a 7-0 victory over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on March 11 in Conway, S.C. With the victory, Penn State got off to its best start record-wise since the 2006 season. The Nittany Lions had a near perfect day, winning two of the three doubles matches and all six singles matches. Junior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) improved his record to a perfect 10-0 with a victory in his singles match.
Scouting Oklahoma State: The Cowboys enter the match ranked 54th in the latest Campbell's ITA Computer Rankings. Oklahoma State's lineup features two ranked singles players. Oleksandr Nedovyesov comes into this weekend ranked 19th nationally in singles action. Nedovyesov made it to the round of 16 at last year's NCAA Singles Championships. Anton Bobytskyi carries a ranking of No. 75 heading into the match with the Nittany Lions.
All-Time vs. the Cowboys: Penn State is 0-1 in the one time they played Oklahoma State last season. On Jan. 21, 2009, the Cowboys picked up a close 4-3 victory over the Nittany Lions. After winning the doubles point, the Nittany Lions got off to a slow start in singles action. With the score being 3-3 though, the match came down to the No. 5 matchup between Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Oklahoma State's Anton Bobytskyi. The first set was back and forth and was tied at three at one point. However, Bobytskiyi took the set winning the next three games, 6-3. In the second set, Gormley trailed 2-1 early, but stormed back and won, 6-3. The deciding set was tough for Gormley, as he began to cramp up. Gormley fought through it and played, but lost the set, 6-0.
About the Blue Gray Classic: This year's event will feature 16 of the nation's strong programs which include, Penn State, Texas Tech, Harvard, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Middle Tennessee State, Fresno State, Boise State, Arizona, William & Mary, Tulsa, Furman, Virginia Commonwealth, South Florida, Oklahoma and San Diego State. With a victory on Thursday, Penn State will play the winner of the Harvard-Texas Tech match. If the Nittany Lions were to advance beyond that, they would play Notre Dame, Middle Tennessee State, Fresno State or Boise State on Saturday in the semifinals. The finals will take place on Sunday.
What's Next: Following the Blue Gray Classic, the Nittany Lions will head to Columbus, Ohio on March 28 to take on the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes. Penn State will continue Big Ten play at Minnesota on April 2.