March 16, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) and sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas), Penn State's No. 1 doubles duo, have gained national attention for their spectacular play in recent weeks. Their hard work has paid off as the duo rose to No. 19 in this week's ITA Top-75 doubles rankings.
Boasting a 10-1 record on the season, including a perfect, 3-0, record against nationally-ranked opponents, Lee and Bader have entered the upper echelon of doubles teams. The duo stormed onto the national scene in February, reeling off back-to-back wins against Princeton's (No. 11) Matt Siow and Matt Spindler 8-7 (3) and Virginia Tech's (No. 51) Luka Somen and Corrado Delg'Incerti Tocci, 8-6. Most recently, Lee and Bader took down No. 2 Ohio State's (No. 28) Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen.
With four wins last week, Lee moved from ninth to a tie for sixth on the all-time doubles victories list. The senior currently owns 65 doubles victories and is tied with Mike Griesser (1995-99). Last season, Eddie Bourchier (2007-11) set the all-time record with 82 triumphs.
The Nittany Lions will return to action Saturday, March 17 when they travel to Ithaca, N.Y. for a road test against the Cornell Big Red. The action will begin at noon.