April 4, 2008
Penn State-Illinois/Purdue Match Notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 43-ranked Penn State men's tennis team (10-8, 3-2) heads out on the road this weekend for a pair of crucial Big Ten bouts. First up, the Nittany Lions will travel to Champaign on Saturday (noon CT) to take on the 17th-ranked Fighting Illini of Illinois (11-6, 3-1). The Nittany Lions will then head to West Lafayette on Sunday for a match against Purdue (noon).
Penn State tallied four-straight victories at home last weekend to climb back to 43rd in the ITA national team rankings. After back-to-back tough losses to Michigan and Wisconsin, the Lions first recorded a pair of convincing victories over Big Ten foe Minnesota (6-1) and Lehigh (7-0) on Friday at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. On Sunday, the Penn State first knocked off 46th-ranked Iowa (9-6, 1-3) by a score of 6-1 at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. The Lions closed out the afternoon with a 4-3 triumph over St. Bonaventure (3-8) in the Lions' first outdoor match of the spring at Sarni Tennis Center.
Junior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) and senior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) have gotten off to a blistering hot start as a doubles team during the dual match season this spring, and have earned a spot at No. 23 in the ITA collegiate doubles rankings. Lynch and James are a perfect 12-0 as a doubles duo thus far in 2008 after recording a pair of convincing victories over Minnesota and Iowa.
After getting off to a strong start to the dual season, James is ranked 63rd in the ITA National Collegiate singles rankings. The Lion senior is 8-7 in duals this spring, including eight matches against ranked players. Overall, the Nittany Lion senior is 6-8 against ranked opponents this season. James picked up his 100th career victory earlier this spring at Cornell. He is 104-36 for his career.
Junior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) is playing some of the best tennis of his collegiate career. After notching a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Alabama's Mathieu Thibaudeau, Slagter picked up a pair of impressive victories over two talented Big Ten freshmen. The Lion junior handed Wisconsin's Marek Michalicka his first loss of the dual season with a 6-3, 6-3. Then Slagter outlasted Michigan rookie phenom Jason Jung by a score of 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (4). After defeating J.P. Ritchie of Iowa (6-2, 6-0) on Sunday, Slagter is now 9-8 on the year and 6-5 in duals. Slagter owns a 58-28 career record.
After starting the season 0-1 in dual action, senior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) has put together a stout streak of singles play. In all, the Lion senior has chalked up seven wins in his last eight singles matches. Playing at the No. 4 spot for the first time this season, Dwyer went 2-0 against Minnesota and Iowa last weekend. He is now 7-2 in duals and 13-7 overall. Dwyer is also 4-1 in Big Ten action.
Illinois comes into the weekend having won six of its last eight matches. The 17th-ranked Illini suffered a 5-2 setback at the hands of Wisconsin in its last Big Ten outing. Illinois has recorded conference victories over Michigan State (6-1), Purdue (7-0) and Northwestern (7-0). The Illini are 7-6 against ranked opponents this season, which includes a tight 4-3 loss to No. 1 Virginia in January. Illinois owns a 20-3 lead in the all-time series against Penn State. In all, the Illini have won the last 16 meetings between the two schools. Illinois defeated Penn State by a score of 5-2 in the last meeting, which came on April 8, 2007, at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.
The 74th-ranked Boilermakers come into the weekend with an 8-8 record. Purdue has lost four of its last five matches. The Boilers downed Northwestern by a score of 5-2 on March 30 in their last match. Purdue's other Big Ten win came against Michigan State (6-1). Since 1996, the Boilermakers hold a 10-5 mark against Penn State. However, the Lions have defeated Purdue in each of the last four meetings. Last year, Penn State downed the Boilers by a score of 6-1 on April 6 at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center.
Penn State returns home next week to close out its home schedule with three home matches. The Nittany Lions will first meet Bucknell (5 p.m.) and Bloomsburg (7:30 p.m.) on April 9 in a pair of rare mid-week matches. The Lions will cap off its 2008 home season with a noon match against Michigan State on Sunday. Weather permitting, all three matches will be held at Sarni Tennis Center and admission is free.