Oct. 17, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Penn State men's tennis team wrapped up play at the UVa Fall Classic Sunday, tallying nine victories. Two singles participants earned third places finishes in their respective brackets, while sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) earned a consolation bracket championship in the "Blue" flight.
In the "Blue" singles draw, Bader started the final day of competition with a consolation bracket semifinals match against Alfredo Rodriguez of Old Dominion. Bader quickly dispensed of Rodriguez, winning both sets by identical scores of 6-2. With the win, he advanced to the consolation bracket championship match against Maryland's Jan Surovic. Bader dropped the first set, 6-4, before taking the second set, 6-3. With the sets even at one apiece, Bader cruised in the tie-breaker, 10-3, to earn a consolation championship for the Nittany Lions.
Junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) faced stiff competition in his first match of the day, opposing the "Orange" bracket's top seed, Julen Uriguen, of Virginia. Uriguen defeated Welnetz, 6-3, 6-2, before falling in the semifinals. Welnetz moved to the third place bracket, where he earned Penn State's first of two third place finishes, when Eastern Kentucky's Hugo Klientovsky retired due to injury.
In "White" singles action, freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) faced the first set-back of his collegiate career, falling (3-6, 6-4, 4-6) to Maryland's Sergio Wyss. Hanzlik then followed Welnetz's path, earning the Nittany Lion's second third place finish of the day when Virginia's Santiago Villegas retired due to injury.
Senior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) each fell in their opening "Black" draw matches of day. Cohen dropped a hard fought bout to No. 1 seed, Stijn Meulemans of Radford, 4-6, 5-7. He then withdrew due to injury in the third place match. Young dropped his first match in the fifth place bracket before going on to earn the seventh place title.
The "Gold" bracket presented an interesting day of singles action. Juniors Guanhua Chen (DaLian, China) and C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) each earned an opening round win in the 13th place bracket. Chen defeated Morgan State's Eric Ward, 6-1, 6-0 and Griffin defeated East Tennessee State's Conner Knox 6-4, 6-2. The two Nittany Lions were set to face each other in the 13th place bracket final, but did not play the final.
Finally, in the "Red" singles draw, senior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) took down Eastern Kentucky's Phillip Janz 6-4, 7-5 before taking down Liberty's Giancarlo Lemmi 6-2, 6-1 to place fifth. Senior
Penn State will return home before heading to Charlottesville, Va. to compete in the ITA Regional Championships, Oct. 20-23.
Singles:
Flight "Blue"
Round 3) Russell Bader (PSU) def. Alfredo Rodriguez (ODU), 6-2, 6-2
Round 4) Russell Bader (PSU) def. Jan Surovic (MD), 4-6, 6-3, 10-3
Flight "Orange"
Round 3) Julen Uriguen (UVA) def. Bryan Welnetz (PSU), 6-4, 6-4
Round 4) Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Hugo Klientovsky (EKU), inj.
Flight "White"
Round 3) Sergio Wyss (MD) def. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Round 4) Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) def. Santiago Villegas (UVA), inj.
Flight "Black"
Round 3) Stijn Meulemans (Radford) def. Taylor Cohen (PSU), 7-5, 6-4
Round 3) Ryan Pool (JMU) def. Chris Young (PSU), w/o
Round 4) John Banks (W&M) def. Taylor Cohen (PSU), inj.
Round 4) Chris Young (PSU) def. Dino Dell'Orto (UVA), inj.
Flight "Gold"
Round 3) Guanhua Chen (PSU) def. Eric Ward (Morg. St), 6-1, 6-0
Round 3) C.J. Griffin (PSU) def. Conner Knox (ETSU), 6-4, 6-2
Flight "Red"
Round 3) Christopher Hasyn (PSU) def. Phillip Janz (EKU), 6-4, 7-5
Round 4) Christopher Hasyn (PSU) def. Giancarlo Lemmi (Liberty), 6-2, 6-1