March 20, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After a tough two match stretch, the 44th-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (12-3, 1-0) got back on track with a 4-1 victory over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday to close out the Blue Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
The Raiders started by winning the doubles point, taking two of the three doubles matches. From there, the Nittany Lions battled back and won the first four singles matches to secure the 4-1 victory.
The No. 3 doubles matchup featured senior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) and sophomore Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) facing Middle Tennessee State's Matthew Langley and Alex McCann. St-Maurice and Cohen picked up an 8-4 victory to give the Nittany Lions an early advantage in doubles.
Over on court No. 1, junior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and sophomore Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) were defeated 8-2 by John Peers and Kyle Wishing. The doubles point was then decided when senior Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and freshman Warren Hardie (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) were downed by Richard Crowden and Shaun Waters, 8-6.
With Middle Tennessee State leading 1-0, the match moved to singles action. On court No. 4, St-Maurice picked up a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Wishing to win his 11th consecutive match. Penn State then took a 2-1 lead when freshman Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) defeated Langey in the No. 5 bout, 6-2, 6-3.
The Nittany Lions increased their lead to 3-1 when Gormley picked up a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Crowden. The deciding match came in the No. 4 bout, where Hardie tallied a 6-4, 6-2 win over McCann. With the overall match already decided, Bourchier and Lee's matches did not finish.
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: #44 Penn State 4 Middle Tennessee State 1
Doubles
1. John Peers/Kyle Wishing (MTS) def. Eddie Bourchier/Jason Lee (PSU), 8-2
2. Richard Crowden/Shaun Waters (MTS) def. Ryan Gormley/Warren Hardie (PSU), 8-6
3. Guillaume St-Maurice/Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Matthew Langley/Alex McCann (MTS), 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. John Peers (MTS) vs. Eddie Bourchier (PSU), DNF
2. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Richard Crowden (MTS), 6-3, 6-2
3. Shaun Waters (MTS) vs. Jason Lee (PSU), DNF
4. Warren Hardie (PSU) def. Alex McCann (MTS), 6-4, 6-2
5. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Matthew Langey (MTS), 6-2, 6-3
6. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Kyle Wishing (MTS), 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 5, 2, 4