April 11, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team (14-7, 2-4) snapped its four-match losing streak with an exciting 4-3 win over Michigan State and a 6-1 victory over Bloomsburg on Sunday. Penn State returns to Happy Valley next weekend with a pair of matches with Illinois and Indiana.
Penn State vs. Michigan State
Penn State came out and won the doubles point to garner the early 1-0 lead. Then, with the match tied at three, junior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) won his match over Ronnie Hulewicz, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, to clinch the victory for Penn State.
In doubles action, Bourchier teamed up with senior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) to face Michigan State's Joe Vallee and Jason Norville. The Nittany Lion tandem won the match, 8-1, to give Penn State the early advantage in doubles.
In the No. 3 bout, senior Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and sophomore Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) took on Clark Richardson and Denis Bogatov. The Penn State duo won the match, 8-3, to clinch the doubles point. With the doubles point already decided, sophomore Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) and freshman Warren Hardie (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) defeated Austin Brooks and John Stratton, 8-4.
With Penn State leading 1-0, the match moved on to singles action. Freshman Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) played in the No. 6 position and dominated Will Davis, winning in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. Following Welnetz's victory, Hardie was defeated by Bogatov, 6-3, 6-4. Penn State had a 2-1 lead.
The No. 4 matchup featured Lee and Norville. In the first set of the match, Lee held a 5-3 lead, but Norville battled back to force a tiebreaker. Lee managed to win the tiebreaker (7-5) to win the first set, 7-6 (5). From there, Lee dominated the second set, 6-1, to win his match and give Penn State a 3-1 lead.
In the No. 5 bout, Stratton defeated St-Maurice, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. St-Maurice had a 3-2 lead midway through the first set, but Stratton went on to win the next four games to have a first set advantage. St-Maurice answered back though in the second set and forced a third set. In the final frame, the two were tied at four, but Stratton won the next two games to seal the victory. Penn State led, 3-2.
On court No. 2, Gormley was downed by Brooks in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. After dropping the first set, Gormley battled hard in the second set. Brooks had a 5-0 lead and was serving 40-0 for the match point. Gormley managed to come back and win that game. From there, he won the next six games incredibly to force a third set. Nevertheless, Brooks took the third set, 6-3.
The overall match then came down to the No. 1 matchup of Bourchier and Hulewicz. In the first set, Bourchier jumped out to a 3-1 lead. From there, he went to win three of the next five games to win the first set, 6-3. Hulewicz came back and won the second set, 6-1. With the final set tied at four, Bourchier locked down and won the next two games to win the set, 6-4, as well as the match for Penn State.
Final Score: #63 Penn State 4 Michigan State 3
Doubles
1. Warren Hardie/Jason Lee (PSU) def. Austin Brooks/John Stratton (MSU), 8-4
2. Eddie Bourchier/Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Joe Vallee/Jason Norville (MSU), 8-1
3. Taylor Cohen/Ryan Gormley (PSU), def. Clark Richardson/Denis Bogatov (MSU), 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Ronnie Hulewicz (MSU), 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
2. Austin Brooks (MSU) def. Ryan Gormley (PSU), 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
3. Denis Bogatov (MSU) def. Warren Hardie (PSU), 6-3, 6-4
4. Jason Lee (PSU) def. Jason Norville (MSU), 7-6 (5), 6-2
5. John Stratton (MSU) def. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Will Davis (MSU), 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 3, 4, ,5, 2, 1
Penn State vs. Bloomsburg
Penn State came out to win all three doubles matches and took a 1-0 advantage on the Huskies. The Lions then went on to win five of the six singles matches to lock a 6-1 victory over Bloomsburg.
In doubles action, Welnetz and Hardie squared-off with Lee Wexler and Mark Schroeder in the No. 2 bout. The Nittany Lion tandem pounded out an 8-0 victory. In the No. 1 bout, Cohen teamed up with Gormley and faced Fernando Perez and Ricky Dove. The two sides were tied at two, but Gormley and Cohen won the next six games to grab an 8-2 victory and the doubles point for Penn State.
With the doubles point already decided, freshmen Guanhua Chen (DaLian, China) and C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) earned an 8-4 victory over Alan Hummel and Brandon Cummings.
Penn State took a 1-0 lead into singles competition. Welnetz gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead when he downed Wexler in straight-sets, 6-0, 6-1. Cohen played in the No. 4 bout and earned his first win of the day as he defeated Schroeder, 6-1, 6-2. Penn State had a 3-0 lead over the Huskies.
The match was clinched in the No. 6 matchup of Chen and Jack McClurkin. After running away with a 6-1 first set win, Chen had no problem in the second set, winning 6-0. Gormley picked up a singles point for Penn State on court No. 1, as he defeated Dove in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Griffin saw action in singles, playing in the No. 5 matchup with Cummings. Griffin downed Cummings, winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3. St-Maurice finished the match for the Nittany Lions in the No. 2 bout, as he lost to Perez, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 1-0 (8).
Final Score: #63 Penn State 6 Bloomsburg 1
Doubles
1. Ryan Gormley/Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Fernando Perez/Ricky Dove (Bloomsburg), 8-2
2. Bryan Welnetz/Warren Hardie (PSU) def. Lee Wexler/Mark Schroeder (Bloomsburg), 8-0
3. C.J. Griffin/Guanhua Chen (PSU) def. Alan Hummel/Brandon Cummings (Bloomsburg), 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Ricky Dove (Bloomsburg), 6-3, 6-1
2. Fernando Perez (Bloomsburg) def. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU), 7-6 (5), 1-6, 1-0 (8)
3. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Lee Wexler (Bloomsburg), 6-0, 6-1
4. Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Mark Schroeder (Bloomsburg), 6-1, 6-2
5. C.J. Griffin (PSU) def. Brandn Cummings (Bloomsburg), 6-0, 6-3
6. Guanhua Chen (PSU) def. Jack McClurkin (Bloomsburg), 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 4, 6, 1, 5, 2
Penn State returns home again next weekend for a pair of Big Ten matches vs. Illinois and Indiana. The Nittany Lions will conclude their regular season on the weekend of April 23 with a pair of road matchups with Wisconsin (4/23) and Northwestern (4/25).