Jan. 26, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 40th-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (2-1) opened its home season with a pair of victories on Saturday at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. The Nittany Lions first ousted Binghamton by a score of 6-1, and then swept St. Joseph's (7-0) in the second match of the doubleheader.
After falling to 12th-ranked Notre Dame in the season opener last Sunday, the Nittany Lions came out firing in both matches. After clinching the doubles point in each contest, the Lions cruised through the singles bouts, dropping just two sets on the day.
"Overall, it was a good effort by the team today," said second-year head coach Todd Doebler. "The guys competed well and played hard in both matches."
Penn State - Binghamton
Junior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and freshman Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) got the Lions on the board first in doubles action. In the No. 1 bout, Slagter and Bourchier snagged a break in fourth game of the pro-set, and never looked back as they ousted Binghamton's Alex Dobrin and Moshe Levy by a score of 8-4.
At No. 3, senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) and junior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) sealed the doubles point with an 8-3 victory over Sebastian Dietz and Andreas Danielsson from Binghamton. Lynch and James took a 5-1 lead, and then slammed the door.
Sophomore Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and freshman Jake Toole (Sharon, Mass.) added security for the Lions with an 8-6 triumph over Binghamton's Gregoire Berner and Arnav Jain at the No. 2 spot.
With the Lions up 1-0, the match moved to singles action. James, who is ranked 51st in the nation, gave Penn State a 2-0 lead with a straight sets win over Dietz in the No. 1 bout. James cruised to a 4-1 edge in the first before serving out the set, 6-2. In a competitive second, James managed to clinch the point with a 6-4 victory.
Slagter set the match score at 3-0 in favor of Penn State by defeating Danielsson at the No. 2 spot. The Lion junior took a 4-1 lead in each set on his way to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
The No. 4 bout proved to be the match-sealing contest for the Nittany Lions. Lynch rolled over Dobrin by a score of 6-4, 6-2, which set the match score at 4-0. Lynch used one break in the first, and then rolled over Dobrin in the second.
In his first collegiate dual outing Toole backed up his strong doubles performance with a convincing 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jain at the No. 6 spot. Toole battled his way to a break in the final game of the first, before he busted the match open with a pair of breaks in the second.
At No. 3, Bourchier suffered his second consecutive dual-match setback at the hands of Levy. Bourchier took a one-set lead (6-4), but Levy rallied in the second. Levy broke the Lion rookie in the 11th game of the set, and then served to a 7-5 victory. In the third, Levy clawed his way past Bourchier (6-4) in the decisive set to get Binghamton on the board in the match.
Gormley picked up a straight sets victory at the No. 6 spot over Berner. Gormley set the final match score at 6-1 in favor of the Lions with his 6-4, 6-2 victory at the No. 5 spot in the lineup.
Final Score: #40 Penn State 6, Binghamton 1
Doubles:
1. Adam Slagter/Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Alex Dobrin/Moshe Levy (BINGHAMTON), 8-4
2. Ryan Gormley/Jake Toole (PSU) def. Gregoire Berner/Arnav Jain (BINGHAMTON), 8-6
3. Michael James/Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Sebastian Dietz/Andreas Danielsson (BINGHAMTON), 8-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles:
1. #51 Michael James (PSU) def. Sebastian Dietz (BINGHAMTON), 6-2, 6-4
2. Adam Slagter (PSU) def. Andreas Danielsson (BINGHAMTON), 6-3, 6-2
3. Moshe Levy (BINGHAMTON) def. Eddie Bourchier (PSU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Alex Dobrin (BINGHAMTON), 6-4, 6-2
5. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Gregoire Berner (BINGHAMTON), 6-4, 6-2
6. Jake Toole (PSU) def. Arnav Jain (BINGHAMTON), 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 6, 3, 5
Penn State -St. Joseph's
In the second match of the day, it took Penn State just 31 minutes to secure the doubles point from St. Joe's. Gormley and Toole jetted out to a 7-0 lead, before scoring an 8-1 victory in the No. 2 battle against Nick Tuxen and Phil Garabedian.
Slagter and Bourchier clinched the doubles marker with an 8-2 victory over Jarrett Chirico and Pat Adams at No. 1.
James and fellow senior Chris Sherman (Edina, Minn.) iced the clean sweep with an 8-3 decision over Will Pearson and Pat Cerutti in the No. 3 bout.
In singles action, James rolled over Chirico at the No. 1 spot. The Lion senior relinquished just three games to Chirico in the match. With his 6-1, 6-0 win over Chirico, James now holds a 98-30 career record.
Sophomore Guillaume St-Maurice (St-Eustache, Quebec) made his season debut at the No. 4 spot. St-Maurice dominated Pearson in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, to garner his first victory in dual matches this season.
Playing at the No. 2 spot for the first time this year, Lynch scored his third consecutive win in dual match play with a straight-sets triumph over Adams, 6-1, 6-0. The straight sets win handed Penn State the overall match, as it marked a 4-0 Penn State lead. Lynch is 14-3 on the season.
Gormley also notched his third straight dual win with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Pearson at the No. 4 spot in the lineup. Gormley now holds a 10-4 overall mark on the season.
A pair of rookies made their collegiate dual match debuts at the bottom of the lineup. Benji Kendall (Villanova, Pa.) ousted Garabedian at No. 5 by a score of 6-0, 6-3 to earn his first dual victory. Jamie Cox (Acworth, Ga.) notched a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 against Cerutti to secure the clean sweep of St. Joe's.
Penn State will now head out onto the road for five consecutive outings. First up will be a trip to No. 35 Virginia Tech on Sat., Feb. 2 at noon. Penn State will then head to Ithaca, N.Y., for a 1 p.m. match on Feb. 9 at Cornell. Following the bout with the Big Red, the Nittany Lions will travel to the ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Team Championships in Seattle.
Final Score: #40 Penn State 7, Saint Joseph's 0
Doubles:
1. Adam Slagter/Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Jarrett Chirico/Pat Adams (ST. JOE'S), 8-2
2. Ryan Gormley/Jake Toole (PSU) def. Nick Tuxen/Phil Garabedian (ST. JOE'S), 8-1
3. Michael James/Chris Sherman (PSU) def. Will Pearson/Pat Cerutti (ST. JOE'S), 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
1. #51 Michael James (PSU) def. Jarrett Chirico (ST. JOE'S), 6-1, 6-2
2. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Pat Adams (ST. JOE'S), 6-1, 6-0
3. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Nick Tuxen (ST. JOE'S), 6-0, 6-1
4. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) def. Will Pearson (ST. JOE'S), 6-1, 6-1
5. Benji Kendall (PSU) def. Phil Garabedian (ST. JOE'S), 6-0, 6-3
6. Jamie Cox (PSU) def. Pat Cerutti (ST. JOE'S), 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 4, 2, 3, 5, 6