March 18, 2011
University Park, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team (8-8, 0-1) will host a doubleheader Sunday, March 20. The Nittany Lions will face the Youngstown State Penguins (3-6) at 10 a.m. and the Dayton Flyers (1-8) at 3 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Sarni Tennis Center weather permitting. Admission is free for both matches.
Penn State returned to its winning ways, posting two impressive 6-1 victories last weekend. The Nittany Lions handily defeated both Navy (11-7) and Villanova (0-9). The Nittany Lions jumped out to quick starts, earning the all important doubles point in both matches. From there, Penn State dominated singles play, only dropping their final singles bout in each match. Senior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and sophomore Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) each garnered four combined doubles and singles victories.
Bourchier looks to continue his quest to become Penn State's career doubles victory leader. After winning two doubles matches last weekend, Bourchier moved to within two victories (76) of the all-time record of 78 wins posted by Michael James in 2008. The senior leads the Nittany Lions with 10 doubles victories and has added six singles wins this season.
Freshman Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) leads the team in singles play with a 10-3 record this spring, including a Blue Gray Tournament victory over Andrew Bettles of No. 36 Boise State. Bader adds nine doubles victories as well.
Junior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) played his first match in first singles position last weekend, posting a 6-2, 6-1 victory of Owen Bullard of Navy. The Aussie has earned an 8-4 record in singles play this spring. He adds six doubles triumphs.
First year head coach Mark Klysner leads the Penguins into their first match ever against the Nittany Lions. The Penguins have an extremely young roster with only one senior returning this year. Junior Tariq Ismail leads the team in the first singles position. He has posted a 13-7 singles record this season, including a 2-3 spring record. Senior Rob Emig and freshman Max Schmerin each lead the Penguins with three singles victories this spring. Ismail and sophomore Felipe Rosa combine to form a potent first doubles pair for Youngstown State.
Led by first year head coach Eric Mahone, the Flyers are off to a slow start, winning only one of their first nice matches. Like the Penguins, the Flyers' roster is filled with young talent, returning one senior this season. Senior Michael Koscielski leads the Flyers in first singles and doubles. Freshman Alex Crum enters his first spring season with high expectations after being ranked the No. 96 overall recruit coming out of St. Xavier High School. Dayton also boasts the former Ohio State Division I State Champion, freshman Benton Benalcazer.
The Nittany Lions will return to Big Ten Conference play next weekend, traveling to Illinois to take on the Illni Friday, March 25 at 4 p.m. and to Iowa to face the Hawkeyes Sunday, March 27 at 11 a.m.