Feb. 20, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 72 Penn State men's tennis team (6-3) jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the No. 30 Virginia Tech Hokies (7-4) rallied for a 4-3 win Sunday in Blacksburg. Juniors Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) and Chris Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) each picked up singles victories for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State started out quickly, winning the first two doubles matches en route to clinching the first point of the match. Junior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) took third doubles from Tripimir Kujundzic and Lucas Oliviera, 8-2. Freshman C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) and Lee then picked up an 8-2 second doubles win over Luka Somen and Carrado Degl Incerti Toccito clinch the doubles point. Freshman Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) and senior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) then fell in No. 1 singles to Pedro Graber and Will Beck, 8-2.
With an early 1-0 lead, the Nittany Lions turned to singles play, seeking an upset. Lee responded quickly, winning second singles over Patrick Daciek in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) to give Penn State a 2-0 lead in the match.
From there, the Hokies took over. Degl Incerti Tocci defeated Bader in the No. 4 singles bout (6-2, 7-6 (4)). Bourchier could not hold off 39th-ranked Somen, falling 6-3, 6-3 and tying the match.
The match then turned to the No. 6 singles match. Francesc Avlina Fajula defeated freshman Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia), 6-4, 6-4. Welnetz then fell to Graber in third singles (6-4, 6-3) to clinch the fourth and deciding point in the match.
Once the match had been decided, Hasyn defeated Beck in a hard-fought No. 5 singles match (5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3) to give the Nittany Lions their third point in a 4-3 loss.
The Nittany Lions will continue their road swing next weekend at the Blue-Gray Tournament in Montgomery, Ala. from Feb. 25-27.
#30 Virginia Tech 4, #72 Penn State 3
Doubles:
1. Pedro Graber/Will Beck (VT) def. Russell Bader/Eddie Bourchier (PSU), 8-2
2. C.J. Griffin/Jason Lee (PSU) def. Luka Somen/Carrado Degl Incerti Tocci (VT), 8-2
3. Taylor Cohen/Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Trpimir Kujundzic/Lucas Oliviera (VT), 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
1. #39 Luka Somen (VT) def. Eddie Bourchier (PSU), 6-3, 6-3
2. Jason Lee (PSU) def. Patrick Daciek (VT), 6-3, 6-0
3. Pedro Graber (VT) def. Bryan Welnetz (PSU), 6-4, 6-3
4. Carrado Degl Incerti Tocci (VT) def. Russell Bader (PSU), 6-2, 7-6 (4)
5. Chris Hasyn (PSU) def. Will Beck (VT), 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3
6. Francesc Avlina Fajula (VT) def. Chris Young (PSU), 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 6, 3, 5