Jan. 31, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's tennis team (2-1) will battle the No. 63 Princeton Tigers Wednesday, Feb. 1 at the Indoor Tennis Center. The action will commence at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free and free pizza will be available for all fans.
Last weekend, Penn State opened its home schedule with a pair of 7-0 victories against St. Bonaventure and Lehigh. Four Nittany Lions picked up four wins each on the day en route to the doubleheader sweep. Senior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) earned one singles victory and moved into 20th place all-time on the Penn State career singles victories list with 50 wins. He also earned two doubles victories and moved into 14th place all-time on the career doubles victory list with 52 wins. Lee would tie Penn State great, Brendan Lynch, for 13th place with a doubles triumph against the Tigers.
Junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) has opened the season on a hot streak, winning his first three singles matches, including a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 59 N.C. State's Ivan Sanchez Gomez. The Texan also posted two doubles victories over the weekend, improving to 2-1 on the doubles court this season.
Freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) remains No. 80 in the ITA singles rankings this week. Since opening the season with a loss to No. 59 N.C. State's Robbie Mudge, the freshman has gone on a tear. He has earned four consecutive victories, including a 6-4, 6-1 win over Lehigh's Mitchell Peterson in the second singles slot.
The Tigers, led by 11th-year head coach Glenn Michibata, enter Wednesday's trip to the Indoor Tennis Center on a two-match win streak against the Nittany Lions. Princeton features the No. 46-ranked singles player, Matija Pecotic, as the No. 1 singles player. The Tigers also boast the No. 11 doubles pairing, consisting of Matt Spindler and Matt Siow, who sport a 12-5 overall record this season. Princeton opened the season with back-to-back losses at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, including a 4-2 loss to No. 72 Purdue, Sunday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions will continue their nine-match homestand with a Saturday, Feb. 4, doubleheader at the Indoor Tennis Center. The Lions will host No. 34 Virginia Tech at noon and Bloomsburg at 5 p.m. Admission is free to all fans. Free pizza will be distributed for all fans, as well.