April 8, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team (10-12, 0-5) dropped its fifth consecutive Big Ten match Friday afternoon against the Michigan Wolverines at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center, 6-1.
The Nittany Lions seemed poised to earn their first conference win of the season, taking the first two doubles matches and the first point of the afternoon. Senior Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) and freshman Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) set the tone quickly for Penn State, jumping to an early lead in first doubles and eventually defeating Jason Jung and Evan King, 8-5. Sophomore Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) and junior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) followed suit in third doubles, disposing of Chris Cha and Chris Madden, 8-5, to clinch the first point of the afternoon for Penn State. Finally, Barrett Franks and Shaun Bernstein took down freshman Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) and junior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) in second doubles, 8-5.
With the Nittany Lions already commanding a 1-0 lead, the match turned to Bader in third singles. The freshman jumped out to an early 4-2 lead in the first set but could not keep the momentum rolling, dropping the tie breaker 7-5. He then dropped the ensuing set, 6-1. Next, Michigan took the lead when ITA No. 21 singles player Evan King defeated Bourchier (6-3, 6-3).
Attention then turned to second singles as Lee looked to even the match against Jung (No. 57). Lee sparked hope in the Nittany Lion faithful when he took the first set, 6-3. Jung rebounded in the second set, winning 6-1, and capped off the victory with a 6-2 triumph in the third set.
With a 3-1 lead in hand, Michigan turned to Franks in fourth singles to seal the victory. Welnetz managed to take the first set in a tie break, 7-6 (5). From there Franks took the next two sets (6-3, 6-4) to secure a 4-1 lead and the match for the Wolverines.
After the match had been decided, Penn State dropped two hard fought matches that went to tie breakers. In fifth singles, Hasyn fell to Cha (7-6 (5), 2-6, 10-4). Finally, Young fell to Madden in sixth singles (6-2, 4-6, 10-6) to complete the comeback for the Wolverines.
The Nittany Lions will continue their homestand this Sunday, April 10, against Michigan State at noon. The match will be played at the Sarni Tennis Center weather permitting. Admission is free.
#23 Michigan 6, Penn State 1:
Doubles:
1. Eddie Bourchier/Russell Bader (PSU) def. Jason Jung/Evan King (MICH), 8-5
2. Barrett Franks/Shaun Bernstein (MICH) def. Chris Young/Jason Lee (PSU), 8-5
3. Bryan Welnetz/Chris Hasyn (PSU) def. Chris Cha/Chris Madden (MICH), 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles:
1. #21 Evan King (MICH) def. Eddie Bourchier (PSU), 6-3, 6-3
2. #57 Jason Jung (MICH) def. Jason Lee (PSU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Shaun Bernstein (MICH) def. Russell Bader (PSU), 7-6 (5), 6-1
4. Barrett Franks (MICH) def. Bryan Welnetz (PSU), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4
5. Chris Cha (MICH) def. Chris Hasyn (PSU), 7-6 (5), 2-6, 10-4
6. Chris Madden (MICH) def. Chris Young (PSU), 6-2, 4-6, 10-6
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6