March 3, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - The Penn State men's tennis team (8-2, 0-0) finished off an impressive nine-match homestand in style Saturday afternoon at the Indoor Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions jumped out quickly in doubles play and never looked back, downing Army (6-6, 2-0), 6-1.
Senior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) and sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas), the nation's No. 29 doubles team, started off the afternoon quickly, taking down Asika Isoh and Henry Jang-Milsten, 8-5. Senior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) then downed Alex Van Velzer and Peter Sienko, 8-4, on court two to seal the doubles point. Finally, red-shirt junior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) and junior C.J. Griffin (Portland, Mich.) overpowered Alex Holland and Rommel Verano in third doubles, 8-3.
With the doubles point in hand, attention turned to Bader on court three. The Texan battled Holland through a tough first set, earning a 6-3 victory. Bader then cruised through the second set, 6-2, to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead.
ITA-No. 121, freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic), then took down Van Velzer (6-2, 6-1) to improve to 7-2 on the season. Lee could not overcome Isoh in first singles though, falling 6-4, 6-2 and dropping to 3-4 on the season.
With the Nittany Lions leading 3-1 and needing one more point to secure the match, Cohen defeated Jang-Milsten in fourth doubles, 6-2, 6-4, to give Penn State its eighth win of the season. After the match had been decided, Welnetz and Hasyn earned wins to swell Penn State's lead to 6-1.
The Nittany Lions will take a southern road swing this week. Wednesday, March 7 Penn State will travel to Orlando, Fla., to face the UCF Knights at 2 p.m. They will then traverse to Tampa Bay, Fla. Friday, March 9, to take on the South Florida Bulls.
Final Score: Penn State 6, Army 1
Doubles:
1. Jason Lee/Russell Bader (PSU) def. Asika Isoh/Henry Jang-Milsten (ARMY), 8-5
2. Taylor Cohen/Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Alex Van Velzer/Peter Sienko(ARMY), 8-4
3. Christopher Hasyn/C.J. Griffin (PSU) def. Alex Holland/Rommel Verano (ARMY), 8-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles:
Asika Isoh (ARMY) vs. Jason Lee (PSU), 6-4, 6-2
Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) def. Alex Van Velzer (ARMY), 6-2, 6-1
Russell Bader (PSU) def. Alex Holland (ARMY), 6-3, 6-2
Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Henry Jang-Milsten, 6-2, 6-4
Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Peter Sienko (ARMY), 6-1, 6-1
Chris Hasyn (PSU) def. Pete Williams (ARMY), 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6