March 31, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team (10-10, 0-3) will continue its road swing through the heart of Big Ten country Sunday, April 3 as the Nittany Lions take on the Northwestern Wildcats (9-7, 0-2) at 11 a.m.
Penn State dropped its first two matches of the current three-match road trip last weekend, falling to No. 10 Illinois (7-0) and No. 66 Iowa (4-3). Senior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and freshman Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) earned the only victory of the afternoon against the Illini, taking first doubles, 8-4. With the win, Bourchier eclipsed Michel James (2004-08) for the most career doubles victories in Penn State men's tennis history with 79. In the second match of the weekend, the Nittany Lions again dropped the doubles portion, before trading singles points with Iowa in a 4-3 loss. Bader earned his team leading 18th singles victory in defeat.
Bader has also been the Nittany Lion's hottest singles player as of late, posting a 6-3 record in his last nine matches. Juniors Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) and Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) have been equally impressive this spring. Hasyn has compiled a 6-4 record in his previous 10 attempts and now sits at 11-10 on the season. Lee has won five of his previous eight matches from primarily the two slot and currently is tied for second on the team with 10 victories this spring.
Bourchier and Bader continue to be golden from the first doubles position. The two joined forces in a 6-1 victory over Buffalo and have never looked back, combining to post a 9-5 record this spring.
This weekend, the Nittany Lions will travel to Evanston, Ill. to take on the Wildcats. Led by coach Arvid Swan, the Wildcats have struggled to begin the Big Ten season, falling to No. 22 Minnesota and Wisconsin. Junior Joshua Graves (No. 77) enters the match as the Wildcat's No. 1 singles threat. Meanwhile, senior Andrew McCarthy leads the team with nine singles victories while primarily playing in the third singles position. Graves and sophomore Spencer Wolf lead Northwestern in doubles play, posting a 12-2 record from the fist doubles position. Northwestern will also face No. 3 Ohio State Saturday afternoon.
Penn State will return to the Sarni Tennis Center for two Big Ten Conference matches next weekend. The Nittany Lions are looking to improve upon their 10-2 home record when they take on the Michigan Wolverines Friday, April 8 at 3 p.m. and the Michigan State Spartans Sunday, April 10 at noon.