March 26, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 62nd-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (12-3, 1-0) will return to Big Ten action on Sunday with a noon match up at the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes. The match can be followed via a live stats link on GoPSUSports.com.
Last Time Out: Penn State finished 1-2 at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Ala. last weekend. After a tough two-match stretch in losses to No. 54 Oklahoma State and No. 62 Harvard, Penn State closed the weekend with a 4-1 victory over Middle Tennessee State. Senior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) went 3-0 in singles action for the weekend and has won 11 straight matches.
Scouting Ohio State: The Buckeyes enter the match ranked third in the latest Campbell's ITA Computer Rankings. Ohio State's lineup features four ranked singles players. Chase Buchanan comes into this weekend ranked 17th nationally in singles action. Buchanan is 15-4 this season and has been named Big Ten player of the week four times this spring. Other players ranked in the Buckeye lineup are Justin Kronauge (26), Dino Marcan (74) and Shuhei Uzawa (117). In doubles action, Marcan and Buchanan are ranked 43rd nationally in the ITA rankings.
All-Time vs. the Buckeyes: Penn State is 6-15 all-time vs. the Buckeyes. Ohio State has won the last 11 matches dating back to the 1999 season. Penn State's last victory over Ohio State came on Feb. 14, 1999 with a 6-0 victory over the Buckeyes.
What's Next: Following the match up with Ohio State, the Nittany Lions will travel to Minnesota on April 2. Penn State will then continue its weekend road trip to Iowa City, Iowa for a dual with the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Nittany Lions return back home on April 9 with a match up against Michigan. Admission to all Penn State home matches is free.