March 27, 2011
IOWA CITY, IOWA - The Penn State men's tennis team (10-10, 0-3) dropped its second consecutive Big Ten match, dropping a hard-fought decision to No. 66 Iowa (7-6, 1-2), 4-3. Freshman Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) earned his team leading eighteen singles victory with a win in fourth singles.
The Nittany Lions began slowly, dropping all three doubles bouts to the Hawkeyes. Senior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and Bader fell behind early against Marc Bruche and Will Vasos in first doubles action before eventually losing, 8-3. Next, sophomore Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) and junior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) dropped the third doubles decision, 8-5, clinching the first point for Iowa. After the point had been awarded, junior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) and sophomore C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) fought hard to earn one doubles victory against Iowa. The No. 2 doubles pair rebounded to tie Austen Kauss and Jonas Dierckx at 6-6 before eventually losing, 8-6.
After falling behind early, Penn State looked to rebound with a strong performance in singles play. Hasyn promptly responded for the Nittany Lions, jumping out to early leads in both sets of the fifth singles pairing. He eventually took down Dierckx (6-1, 6-2) to even the match, 1-1.
Iowa responded in third singles as Vasos cruised past Welnetz to earn a 6-3, 6-2 decision and a 2-1 lead for the Hawkeyes. Bruche extended the lead to 3-1 when he downed Bourchier (6-4, 6-0) in first singles.
With their backs against the wall, the Nittany Lions clawed back into the match. Lee continued his hot play as of late, taking down Nikita Zotov in second singles (6-1, 6-2) to bring the Nittany Lions within one, 3-2.
Penn State looked to Griffin to keep hopes alive. After coming up short in the first set, 6-2, Griffin fell behind in the second set. The sophomore pulled within one, 5-4 but Garret Dunn took the final point and sealed the match for Iowa. After the match had been decided, Bader downed Kauss (7-6, 6-4) in fourth singles to give the Nittany Lions their third point.
#66 Iowa 4, Penn State 3
Doubles:
1. Marc Bruche/Will Vasos (Iowa) def. Eddie Bourchier/Russell Bader (PSU), 8-3
2. Austen Kauss/Jonas Dierckx (Iowa) def. Jason Lee/C.J. Griffin (PSU) 8-6
3. Garret Dunn/Tom Mroziewicz (Iowa) def. Bryan Welnetz/Christopher Hasyn (PSU) 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles:
1. Marc Bruche (Iowa) def. Eddie Bourchier (PSU), 6-4, 6-0
2. Jason Lee (PSU) def. Nikita Zotov (Iowa), 6-1, 6-2
3. Will Vasos (Iowa) def. Bryan Welnetz (PSU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Russell Bader (PSU) def. Austen Kauss (Iowa), 7-6, 6-4
5. Christopher Hasyn (PSU) def. Jonas Dierckx (Iowa), 6-1, 6-2
6. Garret Dunn (Iowa) def. C.J. Griffin (PSU), 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 1, 2, 6, 4
The Nittany Lions will continue their Big Ten road swing next weekend as they travel to Evanston, Ill. to face the Northwestern Wildcats Sunday, April 3 at 11 a.m.