Aug. 30, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's tennis head coach Todd Doebler announced on Monday that senior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) has been appointed team captain for the 2010-11 season.
"It's been exciting to see Eddie transition from a lower lineup guy to a No. 1 player on this team," said Doebler. "He has really asserted himself as a top player and has proven that he deserves to be the captain for this team. Coming off last year, it will be exciting to see what Eddie can do for the program in his senior year at Penn State."
Bourchier, who earned All-Big Ten honors last season, had a stellar year playing primarily in the No. 1 bout for the Nittany Lions. Finishing ranked 102nd in the ITA National Singles Rankings, the then junior went an impressive 15-7 last year, including 11-7 in the No. 1 spot. Bourchier faced-off with nine ranked opponents last season as he went 5-4 against those foes. The Australian native holds a 58-37 career record with the Nittany Lions.
Bourchier also put together a stellar season in doubles action as well. He teamed up with Guillaume St-Maurice last year as they finished the season 4-4 as a team with two big doubles victories over ranked opponents, earning them a No. 58 national ranking.
Penn State will open the fall with a three-day tournament at the Princeton Invitational from Sept. 17-19. Penn State will return the following week to the USTA Invitational at Flushing Meadows, N.Y. from Sept. 24-26. The Nittany Lions will then have nearly a month off before heading to the ITA Regional Championships on Oct. 14-18 in Charlottesville, Va. The squad will close the fall season at the Big Ten Singles tournament from Oct. 28-Nov. 1.
Doebler returns seven players from last year's team, including three starters in Bourchier, junior Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia), and sophomore Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas). Juniors Chris Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) and Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomores Guanhua Chen (DaLian, China) and C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) round out the returning players.
Doebler will have two new additions to the roster this season. This offseason, the Nittany Lions added two five-star recruits in Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) and Harry Seaborn (North Salem, N.Y.).
Penn State finished last season 15-11, the programs eighth consecutive winning season. Doebler carries a 61-43 record as head coach of the Nittany Lions.