March 18, 2010
UnIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team (11-2, 1-0) had a difficult 4-1 setback to the 54th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys on Thursday evening at the Blue Gray Classic. With the loss, the Nittany Lions will square off with Harvard tomorrow in the consolation bracket.
Oklahoma State got off to a quick start as they picked up an early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. From there, the Cowboys went on to win three of four singles matches to win the match.
The match started with doubles action. In the No. 1 doubles bout, junior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and sophomore Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) had a tough 8-2 loss Oklahoma State's Oleksandr Nedovyesov and Aleksey Bessonov. From there, the Cowboys clinched the doubles point when Anton Bobytskyi and Eric West defeated senior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustace, Quebec) and sophomore Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.), 8-3. With the double point decided, senior Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and freshman Warren Hardie (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) did not finish their match.
With Oklahoma State leading 1-0, the match moved on to singles action. Penn State quickly tied the match up at one when St-Maurice picked up a nice 6-2, 6-4 victory over Maxi Kuhn in the No. 6 bout. After breezing through the first set, St-Maurice jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set. From there, he maintained the lead to garner the second set.
On court No. 1, Bourchier had the challenge of playing the 17th-ranked player in the country in Nedovyesov. The Oklahoma State standout handed Bourchier his first loss of the season in a 6-3, 6-3 victory, which gave the Cowboys a 2-1 lead. In the No. 4 matchup, Hardie took on Bessonov. Hardie had the early advantage as he won the first set, 6-4. However, Bessonov battled back and won the final two sets, 6-3, 6-2, to give the Cowboys a 3-1 lead.
The overall match was decided in the No. 3 bout where Lee faced Ilija Martinoski. With the Lee leading the first set by a score of 3-2, Martinoski battled back to win the next four games to hold a one set advantage. From there, Martinoski rode his momentum and won the second set, 6-3. With the match already decided, Gormley and freshman Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) had their matches come to a halt.
Penn State will take on Harvard tomorrow with a 4:30 p.m. approximate start time. The match can be followed via a live stats link on GoPSUSports.com. 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.
Final Score: #54 Oklahoma State 4 #44 Penn State 1
Doubles
1. Oleksandr Nedovyesov/ Aleksey Bessonov (OKST) def. Eddie Bourchier /Jason Lee (PSU), 8-2
2. Ilija Martinoski/Maxi Kuhn (OKST) vs. Ryan Gormley/Warren Hardie (PSU), DNF
3. Eric West/Anton Bobytskyi (OKST) def. Guillaume St-Maurice/Taylor Cohen (PSU), 8-3
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1. #17 Oleksandr Nedovyesov (OKST) def. Eddie Bourchier (PSU), 6-3, 6-3
2. #75 Anton Bobytskyi (OKST) vs. Ryan Gormley (PSU), DNF
3. Ilija Martinoski (OKST) def. Jason Lee (PSU), 6-4, 6-3
4. Aleksey Bessonov (OKST) def. Warren Hardie (PSU), 6-4, 3-6, 2-6
5. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) vs. Eric West (OKST), DNF
6.Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Maxi Kuhn (OKST), 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 6, 1, 4, 3