Sept. 28, 2007
NEW YORK - The top-seeded Penn State men's tennis team handed No. 16-seed Saint Joseph's a 7-0 shutout in the first round of the ECAC Men's Invitational Tennis Championship on Friday at the Columbia University Indoor Tennis Center.
With a threat of rain, the first-round match was moved from the USTA National Tennis Center to Columbia University in Manhattan. The Lions took all three matches in doubles action, and then remained unblemished in singles play to seal the victory. Penn State moves on to face Dartmouth in the quarterfinals at the USTA National Tennis Center on Saturday at 8 a.m.
"It was a nice way to start the tournament," second-year head coach Todd Doebler. "The guys showed good intensity throughout the match and played with a lot of confidence."
In doubles action, senior Chris Sherman (Edina, Minn.) and sophomore Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) struck first for the Nittany Lions at No. 3. Sherman and St-Maurice jumped out to a quick 3-0 against the St. Joe's duo of Pat Adams and Nick Tuxen. The Nittany Lion team did not stop there, as they cruised to an 8-1 victory.
Junior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) and sophomore Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) sealed the doubles point with an 8-3 win at No. 2 against the St. Joe's team of Pat Cerruti and Phil Garabedian. Lynch and Gormley snagged a break in the sixth game of the pro-set to take a 4-2 lead. The Nittany Lions then rattled off three more games to secure a 7-2 edge, before closing out the match, 8-3.
Senior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and freshman Edward Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) added some insurance at the No. 1 spot by ousting Phil Bayliss and Will Pearson of St. Joe's, 8-6. Despite Bourchier serving for the match at 7-5, the St. Joe's team rallied with a break to set the score at 7-6. However, Dwyer served out the match to give Penn State the doubles sweep.
With Penn State up 1-0, the match turned to singles play. In his collegiate dual-match debut freshman Benji Kendall (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead after knocking off Pearson at No. 5 in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. After dominating the first, Kendall quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second before finishing off the match.
At No. 1, senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.), who is ranked 35th in the ITA national rankings, was a straight sets winner over Adams, 6-2, 6-1. James used early breaks in both sets to score the convincing victory at the top singles spot.
Gormley provided the match-sealing point with his straight sets victory (6-1, 6-2) over Tuxen at No. 2. Gormley was quick out of the gate in the first set, grabbing a 3-0 lead. He went on to win 12 of the 15 games in the match to provide the Nittany Lions with their fourth point.
St-Maurice knocked off Bayliss at the No. 3 slot by a score of 6-2, 6-3 to give Penn State a 5-0 lead in the match. After dominating the first set, St-Maurice found himself in a bit of a grind in the second. The two players exchanged breaks, but St-Maurice scored the break he needed in the seventh game of the match to seal the point for the Lions.
Also in his first collegiate dual outing was freshman Jamie Cox (Acworth, Ga.), who ousted Cerruti at No. 4 by a 6-4, 6-3 margin. In a tight first, Cox notched the set with a break in the 10th game, which was all he needed. From there, the freshman southpaw went on to take the second, 6-3.
Sherman sealed the 7-0 sweep after defeating Garabedian at the No. 6 spot, 6-3, 6-3. Sherman rolled off the final three games of the first set to take the early lead. He used that momentum in the second to seal the point for the Nittany Lions.
Action will continue in Flushing Meadows throughout the weekend. The quarterfinals will take place on Saturday, with the semifinals slated for Sunday. The tournament finals will take place on Monday morning, with the champion garnering a berth into the ITA Men's National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle, Wash., in February.
Final Score: Penn State 7, Saint Joseph's 0
Doubles:
1. James Dwyer/Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Phil Bayliss/Will Pearson (St. Joe's), 8-6
2. Brendan Lynch/Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Pat Cerruti/Phil Garabedian (St. Joe's), 8-3
3. Guillaume St-Maurice/Chris Sherman def. Pat Adams/Nick Tuxen (St. Joe's), 8-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
1. #35 Michael James (PSU) def. Pat Adams (St. Joe's), 6-2, 6-2
2. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Nick Tuxen (St. Joe's), 6-1, 6-2
3. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Phil Bayliss (St. Joe's), 6-2, 6-3
4. Jamie Cox (PSU) def. Pat Cerruti (St. Joe's), 6-4, 6-3
5. Benji Kendall (PSU) def. Will Pearson (St. Joe's), 6-0, 6-1
6. Chris Sherman (PSU) def. Phil Garabedian (St. Joe's), 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6