March 10, 2011
University Park, Pa. - The No. 70 Penn State men's tennis team (6-7, 0-1) is slated to play three important matches this weekend. The Nittany Lions travel to Tampa Bay, Fla. for a bout against the South Florida Bulls (5-2) Friday, March 10 at 2 p.m. Penn State will then return home for a doubleheader Sunday, March 13 against Navy (11-6) at noon and Villanova (0-8) at 5 p.m. The matches will take place at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Admission to both matches is free.
The Nittany Lions opened Big Ten Conference play last weekend with a loss to Ohio State (15-1, 1-0). Penn State maintained an early lead before dropping all three doubles matches to the Buckeyes. Senior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) gave ITA No. 14 ranked singles player Chase Buchanan a tough fight in first singles before eventually falling (6-2, 6-4). The Buckeyes swept all six singles matches to take the match, 7-0.
Freshman Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) leads Penn State with eight singles victories this spring and is second on the team with 13 wins during the 2010-11 season. Sophomore Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) leads the Nittany Lions with 14 singles victories this season. Bourchier and Bader remain the No. 63 doubles team in the nation this week after falling against the No. 12 doubles team of Ohio State's Matt Allare and Peter Kobelt.
Led by head coach Don Barr the South Florida Bulls have seen success early in the season. The Bulls are 1-1 in Big East play against stout competition, including a 6-1 victory over No. 36 Florida State and a 4-3 loss to No. 32 Miami (Fla.) South Florida is led by senior Lucas Jovita and junior Wael Kilani in singles play. The pair also partners together for a potent first doubles team.
The U.S. Naval Academy enters Sunday's match against the Nittany Lions having won four of its last five contests. Navy is led by head coach John Officer. Senior Owen Bullard leads the Midshipmen in the No. 1 singles position with 10 wins this spring. Senior Jeremy New and sophomore Nicholas Gutsche each have captured nine singles victories for Navy this spring.
Led by head coach Brad Adams, the Wildcats are winless entering Sunday's match. Villanova features junior Raphael Santiago and seniors David Sheehan and Trenton Alenik alternating between the top three singles positions. Alenik and freshman Thomas O' Brien combine to form the Wildcats most successful doubles team.
The Nittany Lions will remain home next Sunday, March 20 for a doubleheader against Youngstown State at 10 a.m. and Dayton at 3 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.