Feb. 3, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Fresh off of a 4-3 victory against No. 65 Princeton, the Penn State men's tennis team (3-1) welcomes another challenge to the Indoor Tennis Center, Saturday, Feb. 4, in the form of a doubleheader against No. 32 Virginia Tech (1-1) and Bloomsburg (1-0). The action is set to begin at noon with the second match starting at 5 p.m. Admission is free and pizza will be provided for all fans free of charge.
The Nittany Lions are coming off of an exciting victory over No. 65 Princeton at the Indoor Tennis Center, Wednesday, Feb. 1. Senior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) and sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) improved to 3-0 this season in the first doubles position with an exhilarating, 8-7 (3), win over the nation's No. 11 doubles team consisting of Matt Siow and Matt Spindler. The Nittany Lions dropped the doubles point even with the miraculous upset in first doubles.
After falling behind, 2-0, Bader, senior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.), and freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) all overcame final set deficits to give Penn State a 3-2 lead. That set up red-shirt junior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) with an opportunity to clinch the Nittany Lions' first win over a ranked opponent since a, 5-2, triumph against No. 64 Cornell last Feb. 12. The co-captain picked up a, 6-3, 7-6 (5), win over Ravi Yegya-Raman to seal a victory for Penn State.
With a doubles victory this weekend, Lee moved to 14th in Penn State history with 52 career doubles victories. With one victory this weekend, the Aussie would tie Brendan Lynch (2005-08) for 13th place and with two triumphs, Lee stands to tie Eric Meditz (1995-98) for 12th all-time with 54 wins. Lee also remains in 20th place on the all-time Penn State singles victories list with 50 wins. With two more wins, Lee will tie Chad Skorupka (1990-94) for 19th place with 52 career wins.
Penn State has begun the 2012 spring campaign with impressive singles play. Five players currently own a 3-1 record in spring singles matches. Bader leads the way for the Nittany Lions in 2011-12 with a 12-5 overall record. Hanzlik, ranked No. 80 in the country, is second with an 11-5 overall record.
Virginia Tech, headed by 13th-year head coach, Jim Thompson, opened the season with a, 4-3, victory over No. 39 Nebraska and a 7-0 loss to No. 4 Georgia. The Hokies sport a 191-123 record under Thompson's tutelage and are coming off of a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. ITA-No. 58 Luka Somen leads Virginia Tech from the first singles slot. Lucas Oliveira, the Hokies' No. 2 singles player, joins Somen in the rankings at No. 71. Somen and Corrado Delg'Incerti Tocci combine to form the 51st-ranked doubles team in the nation.
Lead by head coach Marty Coyne, Bloomsburg enters Saturday's match with a 1-0 record following a 7-2 victory over Le Moyne. State College native, Ricky Dove, and Jeff Nuhfer lead the Huskies in singles play. Dove and Tyler Pultro form Bloomsburg's No. 1 doubles team, as well. Penn State took down the Huskies last season, 7-0.
Penn State will continue its nine-match homestand next Saturday, Feb. 11, with a doubleheader against Buffalo at 10 a.m. and Bucknell at 3 p.m. Last season, the Lions swept a Saturday doubleheader against the schools, defeating Buffalo, 5-2, and Bucknell, 6-1. Admission is free and free pizza will be available for all fans.