Jan. 30, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State men's tennis team (3-1) regained its winning ways Sunday afternoon, with a 5-2 win over Army (1-1) at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to a quick start, winning two of three highly contested doubles match to take the first point of the afternoon. The No. 1 pairing of senior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and freshman Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) overcame Army's Rashad Shelton and Tripp Johnson to give the Nittany Lions an early lead with an 8-5 win. Sophomore Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) and junior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) rebounded from deficits of 4-1 and 5-2 to beat Donald Van Velzer and Henry Jang-Milsten, 8-6, in the second doubles match to clinch a 1-0 lead for Penn State. Sophomore C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) and freshman Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) were not able to outlast Alex Holland and Asika Isoh, falling 8-6 in the third doubles bout.
With Penn State holding a 1-0 lead, the match turned to singles action. Bader impressively beat Jang-Milsten (6-1, 6-2) in fourth singles to give Penn State an early 2-0 advantage. Welnetz then defeated Van Velzer (6-4, 6-2) in the No. 2 slot to earn the Nittany Lions a third point.
The match turned to Young and the No. 3 pairing. The freshman rebounded from being down 4-0 in the first set and 3-1 in the second set to beat Johnson, 7-5, 6-4, for not only the first victory of his career. The win for Young clinched the match for the Nittany Lions. Once the match had been decided, junior Chris Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) defeated Rommel Verano in fifth singles (6-2, 6-2) to give the Nittany Lions a commanding 5-0 lead.
The No. 1 match-up featuring Bouchier and Isoh then took center stage. Bourchier battled back from 6-5 deficits to force tie breakers in both sets, but could not overcome Isoh, losing his first singles match of the season (7-6 (5), 7-6 (6)).
In the final match of the day, Griffin fell in the No. 6 bout to Shelton (7-5, 4-6, (7-10)). Also in action Sunday, freshman Harry Seaborn (North Salem, N.Y.) rebounded from a 6-3 deficit to beat Alex Holland, 8-6, in a one-set exhibition match.
Penn State will remain home next weekend for a doubleheader, taking on N.C. State at 9 a.m. and Bloomsburg (Pa.) at 2 p.m.
#71 Penn State 5, Army 2:
Doubles:
1. Eddie Bourchier/Russell Bader (PSU) def. Rashad Shelton/Tripp Johnson (Army), 8-5
2. Bryan Welnetz/Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Donald Van Velzer/Henry Jang-Milsten (Army), 8-6
3. Alex Holland/Asika Isoh (Army) def. C.J. Griffin/ChrisYoung (PSU), 8-6
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles:
1. Asika Isoh (Army) def. Eddie Bourchier (PSU), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6)
2. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Donald Van Velzer (Army), 6-4, 6-2
3. Chris Young (PSU) def. Tripp Johnson (Army), 7-5, 6-4
4. Russell Bader (PSU) def. Henry Jang-Milsten (Army), 6-1, 6-2
5. Chris Hasyn (PSU) def. Rommel Verano (6-2, 6-2)
6. Rashad Shelton (Army) def. C.J. Griffin (PSU), 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
Ex. Harry Seaborn (PSU) def. Alex Holland (Army), 8-6
Order of finish: 4, 2, 3, 5, 1, 6