March 10, 2012
TAMPA BAY, Fla. - The Penn State Nittany Lions (9-3, 0-0) could not overcome a strong effort by Wael Kalani and the South Florida Bulls (3-8) Friday afternoon, falling for the first time in six attempts, 4-3.
The Nittany Lions opened the match quickly as senior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) began doubles play with an 8-4 second doubles victory over Kalani and Lucas Marin-Salcedo. Senior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) and sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) then wrapped up the first point of the match for Penn State with an 8-1 triumph on court one. The win moved Lee into seventh place on the Nittany Lions' career doubles victories list with 64 wins. Finally, junior C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) and red-shirt junior Chris Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) finished off the doubles sweep with an 8-4 win in No. 3 doubles.
Cohen then continued the Nittany Lion momentum in his fourth singles bout, upending Ravi Patel (6-2, 6-2) to give Penn State a 2-0 lead. The Bulls did not quit though, as Federico Sabogal took down freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic), 6-2, 6-1, in second singles. Then, Lee could not overcome Kalani, who was filling in for a sick Yannick Yoshizawa, in first singles (6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-2). The Bulls rattled off a third consecutive victory as Welnetz fell to Marin-Salcedo on court five (7-6 (2), 7-5).
Bader would not allow the Nittany Lions to go quietly though, taking the third singles contest over Juan Carlos Acuna, 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-2, which evened the match at 3-3. The momentum did not last though, as Oliver Pramming took down sophomore Chris Young (Melbourne, Australia) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the final bout of the afternoon.
Penn State will open Big Ten Conference play Sunday, March 11 when it travels to Columbus, Ohio for a noon match against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Final Score: USF 4, Penn State 3
Doubles:
1. R. Bader/J.Lee (PSU) def. Y.Yoshizawa/O.Pramming (USF) 8-1
2. T.Cohen/B.Welnetz (PSU) def. W.Kalani/L.Marin-Salcedo (USF) 8-4
3. C.J.Griffin/C.Hasyn (PSU) def. R.Patel/F.Sabogal (USF) 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
1. Wael Kalani (USF) def. Jason Lee (PSU) 6-2, 6-7 (7-2), 6-2
2. Federico Sabogal (USF) def. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Russell Bader (PSU) def. Juan Carlos Acuna (USF) 6-7 (7-5), 6-0, 6-2
4. Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Ravi Patel (USF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Lucas Marin-Salcedo (USF) def. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) 7-6 (2), 7-5
6. Oliver Pramming (USF) def. Chris Young (PSU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 2, 1, 5, 3, 6