Jan. 26, 2013
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Penn State men's tennis team upset #59 New Mexico, 6-1, on Saturday at the Wake Forest Tournament. The Nittany Lions won five of six singles matches against the Lobos and two doubles matches to improve to 2-2 on the year. The squad also competed in the doubles portion of their match against Wake Forest, with the Demon Deacons earning the point. Penn State will resume action tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in the singles portion against Wake Forest and then against Alabama at 1:00p.m.
The win was Penn State's first over a ranked opponent since February 1, 2012 against #63 Princeton at home last season. It was the Nittany Lions' first win over a ranked opponent away from home since April 25, 2010 against #57 Northwestern.
"Today we played one of the better matches that we've played since I've been at Penn State." said Coach Jeff Zinn. "Hopefully that's a good sign for the rest of the season and the program."
Senior Bryan Welnetz(Laredo, Texas) improved to 4-0 this spring with a 6-3, 6-3 upset over New Mexico's Samir Iftikhar, ranked 73rd in the ITA Poll.
Tomas Hanzlik(Prague, Czech Republic) also moved to 4-0 this spring with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Jadon Phillips. Russell Bader(Austin, Texas) earned a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Riaan Du Toit.
Junior Chris Young(Melbourne, Australia)) knocked off New Mexico's Mads Hegelund in straight sets by a score of 6-2, 6-2. Freshman Matt Barry(Lido Beach, N.Y.) also picked up a win with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Mitch McDaniels.
In his match, Roman Trkulja(Toronto, Canada) dropped a 7-6(5), 6-1 result against New Mexico's Conor Berg.
The Nittany Lions earned the doubles point against New Mexico with a pair of wins. Russell Bader and Roman Trkulja topped Riaan Du Toit and Jadon Phillips 8-3. Guanhua Chen(DaLian, China) and Chris Young followed that up with an 8-4 victory over James Hignett and Andrew Van der Vyver.
C.J. Griffin(Portland, Mich.) and Bryan Welnetz combined in the third match against Mads Hegelund and Conor Berg, but the match was not finished after Penn State claimed the doubles point. The score was 6-6 when the match was stopped.
#65 Wake Forest earned the doubles point against Penn State by sweeping the doubles matches. Bader and Trkulja fell 8-2 against David Hopkins and Amogh Prabhakar. Griffin and Welnetz dropped a tight 8-7 match against Danny Kreyman and Sam Bloom. In the third match, Wake Forest's Jon Ho and Adam Lee claimed an 8-6 victory over Chen and Young.
"We lost a tough doubles point against Wake Forest tonight, but we're looking forward to tomorrow's match." Assistant Coach Chris Cagle said. "It should be a very competitive match and day of tennis."
The Wake Forest Tournament will conclude on Sunday. Live stats for Penn State's match against Wake Forest can be found at http://www.wakeforestsports.com/livestats/m-tennis/xlive.htm.
Penn State vs. #59 New Mexico
Doubles:
1. Bader/Trkulja (PSU) def. Du Toit/Phillips (UNM), 8-3.
2. Chen/Young (PSU) def. Hignett/Van der Vyver (PSU), 8-4.
3. Griffin/Welnetz (PSU) vs. Hegelund/Berg (UNM), 6-6, unfinished.
Singles:
1. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Samir Iftikhar (UNM), 6-3, 6-3.
2. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU) def. Jadon Phillips (UNM), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
3. Conor Berg (UNM) def. Roman Trkulja (PSU), 7-6 (5), 6-1.
4. Russell Bader (PSU) def. Riaan Du Toit (UNM), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
5. Chris Young (PSU) def. Mads Hegelund (UNM), 6-2, 6-2.
6. Matt Barry (PSU) def. Mitch McDaniels (UNM), 7-5, 6-2.
Penn State vs. #65 Wake Forest
Doubles:
1. Hopkins/Prabhakar(Wake) def. Bader/Trkulja(PSU), 8-2.
2. Ho/Lee(Wake) def. Chen/Young(PSU), 8-6.
3. Kreyman/Bloom(Wake) def. Griffin/Welnetz(PSU), 8-7.