Jan. 27, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team (0-1) will open a nine-match homestand Saturday, Jan. 28 with a doubleheader. The Nittany Lions will face St. Bonaventure (0-0) at 10 a.m. and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (0-0) at 3 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Admission is free for both matches.
Penn State opened the 2011 spring campaign with a pair of 6-1 victories in a doubleheader sweep of the Bonnies and Mountain Hawks. Senior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia), junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas), and sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) all earned four victories apiece for the Nittany Lions.
The Lions opened their season last Sunday, Jan. 22, with a tough loss at No. 59 N.C. State, 6-1. Lee and Bader joined forces to earn an 8-4 victory in the first doubles bout, but Penn State could not secure the all-important first point. From there, Welnetz earned the lone victory of the afternoon for Penn State with his 6-2, 6-2 victory in fifth singles over Ivan Sanchez Gomez.
Freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) entered the season ranked No. 80 in the ITA singles ranking. The freshman posted an impressive 8-4 singles record during the fall season, including a 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 victory of No. 101 Marc Bruche of Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Hanzlik has taken over the No. 3 singles position for the Nittany Lions this spring.
Led by head coach Michael Bates, the Bonnies enter Saturday's match with high hopes for the 2012 season. St. Bonaventure was predicted to finish seventh in the conference by Atlantic 10 coaches. With last season's No. 1singles player, Chris Post, having graduated, the Bonnies will look to a group of talented young players to fill the void. Juniors Luis Guevara and Oscar Yanez, along with sophomore Elliot Faschnel, will lead a talented St. Bonaventure squad this season.
Lehigh head coach Dave Shook opens his 23rd season at the helm of the Mountain Hawks with one of the youngest squads he has ever coached. The Mountain Hawks are coming off of a 15-7season that saw seniors Troy List and Colin Laffey lead a charge to Lehigh's first-ever appearance in the Patriot League championship match. List and Laffey have since graduated, leaving sophomore Mark Goldberg and junior Matt Savran in control as the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players. The duo posted a combined 30-10 record last season.
The Nittany Lions will continue their homestand Wednesday, Feb.1, with a test against No. 63 Princeton. Penn State is looking to avenge a 4-3 road loss to the Tigers last season. The action begins at 5:30 p.m at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Admission is free to all fans.