Sept. 23, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Penn State men's tennis finished the Ranked plus One Invitational on Sunday. The tournament was hosted by the University of Virginia. Penn State earned six total wins over the weekend, including a victory by Bryan Welnetz(Laredo, Texas) on Sunday. Sophomore Tomas Hanzlik(Prague, Czech Republic) fell in the "Blue" Singles Final.
In the final of the "Blue" Singles Draw, Hanzlik faced the first seed in the bracket, Virginia's Alex Domijan. Unfortunately, Domijan, ranked 8th in the 2012 ITA Preseason Singles Poll, proved to be too much for Hanzlik, winning 6-1, 6-2. It was still a very impressive weekend for Hanzlik, who finished with a 3-1 singles record. On Friday, the Czech Republic native defeated Memphis' David O'Hare 6-2, 6-0 in the first round. In the quarterfinal, Hanzlik defeated the 56th ranked singles player in the nation, Ole Miss' William Kallberg 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. Later in the day, Hanzlik earned a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over NC State's Sean Weber.
Competing for 13th place in the "White" Singles bracket, the senior Welnetz knocked off Radford's Joe Mills, 6-2. In the second set, Mills retired due to injury. Welnetz finished the weekend with two wins, with the other coming against Louisville's Michael Lippins(6-3, 6-2) in Saturday's consolation round.
Freshman Roman Trkulja(Toronto, Canada) dropped a pair of tough matches over the weekend to George Washington's Alex Van Gils(7-5,6-7, 6-1) and Radford's Nick Sayer(7-5, 6-2). Sayer was ranked 74th in the preseason singles poll. Trkulja pulled out of the consolation bracket due to an injury.
Hanzlik and Welnetz picked up a win in the "Red" Doubles bracket, with a consolation third place victory over North Carolina's Andrew Gores and Stuart Depaolo 8-0.
Junior Russell Bader(Austin, Texas) and Trkulja also picked up a doubles win in their bracket. They defeated "Silver" doubles opponent NC State's Thomas Weigel and Rafael Paez(8-4) in the consolation third place match.
The Nittany Lions will send representatives to the ITA All-American Championships, next week in Tulsa, Okla.
Singles:
Blue:
Round 1) Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. David O'Hare(MEM), 6-2, 6-0
Alex Van Gils(GW) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), 7-5, 6-7, 6-1
Quarterfinal) Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. William Kallberg(OleMiss), 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
Semifinal) Tomas Hanzlik(PSU) def. Sean Weber(NCST), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Final) Alex Domijan(UVA) def. Tomas Hanzlik(PSU), 6-1, 6-2
Consolation Quarterfinal) Nick Sayer(RAD) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), 7-5, 6-2
13th place, Semifinal) David O'Hare(MEM) def. Roman Trkulja(PSU), (inj)
White:
Round 1) Rafael Aita(UNCW) def. Bryan Welnetz(PSU), 6-4, 6-4
13th Place, Semifinal) Bryan Welnetz(PSU) def. Michael Lippins(LOUIS), 6-3, 6-2
13th Place, Final) Bryan Welnetz(PSU) def. Joe Mills(RAD), 6-2, ret(inj)
Doubles:
Red:
Round 1) Blank/Cooprider(UNCW) def. Hanzlik/Welnetz(PSU), 8-6
Consolation Round 1) Davis/Lang(MTSU) def. Hanzlik/Welnetz(PSU), 8-5
Consolation Third Place) Hanzlik/Welnetz(PSU) def. Gores/Depaolo(UNC), 8-0
Silver:
Round 1) Sayer/Dehaen(RAD) def. Bader/Trkulja(PSU), 9-7(4)
Consolation Round 1) Hess-Olesen/Vick(UNC) def. Bader/Trkulja(PSU), 8-4
Consolation Third Place) Bader/Trkulja(PSU) def. Weigel/Paez(NCST), 8-4