March 2, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Nittany Lion men's tennis team (7-2, 0-0) looks to wrap up its nine-match homestand Saturday, March 3 with a date against the Army Black Knights (6-5, 2-0). The action will begin at the Indoor Tennis Center at 10 a.m. Admission is free and pizza will be provided for fans.
The last time the Nittany Lions took the court, they handed the Binghamton Bearcats a 7-0 sweep. The Feb. 18 victory improved Penn State's record at home to 7-1 on the season, including its five, 7-0, sweeps. Senior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) and sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) led the charge in doubles play, earning an 8-4 victory over Alexandre Haggai and Ismael Dinia in first doubles. Senior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) then took their doubles bout on court two, 8-5, to secure the first point of the match. From there, the Nittany Lions took all six singles matches, highlighted by Lee's 6-4, 6-2 triumph in first singles.
Penn State currently claims three players in this week's ITA rankings. Following their impressive showing against Binghamton's No.1 doubles tandem, Lee and Bader, moved up one spot in this week's Top-75 doubles rankings to No. 29. The duo is currently 7-1 on the season, including boasting a 2-0 record against nationally ranked opponents.
Freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) also remains in the ITA Top-125 singles rankings. Hanzlik moved to No. 121 in this week's polls following a 6-1, 6-4 second singles victory over Binghamton's Ruben Devos. The freshman improved to 6-2 in dual matches with the victory.
Lee continues to climb on Penn State's all-time doubles and singles victories lists. With his success against Haggai two weekends ago, Lee moved into a ninth-place tie with Chad Skorupka (1990-94) and Mark Barry (2002-06) on the career doubles wins tally with 61 triumphs. With a victory against Army, the Aussie would move into eighth place with 62 wins. He also ranks 19th all-time with 55 singles triumphs.
Welnetz and red-shirt junior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) have been riding equally impressive hot streaks in singles play. Both Nittany Lions have won eight of their last 10 singles matches. Bader and Cohen also boast 7-3 records over their last 10 matches.
The Blacks Knights are led by 10th-year head coach Jim Poling. With only three seniors on the roster, this is one of Poling's youngest, yet most experienced teams in recent history. Army is led on the court by sophomore Asika Isoh. Isoh holds a 5-4 record in the No. 1 singles slot this season. He and fellow sophomore Henry Jang-Milsten take the first doubles position for the Black Knights. The duo has posted a 4-4 record this season.
After nine straight matches at the Indoor Tennis Center, the Nittany Lions will hit the road for a spring break road trip. They will travel to Orlando, Fla., Wednesday, March 7, to face the UCF Knights. Penn State will then traverse to Tampa Bay, Fla. for a Friday match against the South Florida Bulls.