Jan. 23, 2012
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Penn State men's tennis team (0-1) dropped its first match of the Jeff Zinn era Sunday afternoon against No. 59 N.C. State at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, 6-1. Junior Bryan Welnetz (Laredo, Texas) picked up a singles victory in the No. 5 slot to secure the Nittany Lions first point of the match.
The Nittany Lions fought to the last point before dropping a tightly contested doubles point. Senior Taylor Cohen (Philadelphia, Pa.) and red-shirt junior Christopher Hasyn (Lansdale, Pa.) dropped the No. 2 doubles match, 8-2. Senior Jason Lee (Sydney, Australia) and sophomore Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) responded to the challenge, cruising to an 8-4 victory over Julian Sullivan and Sean Weber of N.C. State in the first doubles match, tying the score at 1-1. Welnetz and freshman Tomas Hanzlik (Prague, Czech Republic) took N.C. State's Jaime Pulgar and Austin Powell to the wire before dropping the final doubles contest, 9-7, giving N.C. State an early 1-0 lead.
After dropping the opening frame, Penn State entered the singles portion of the match looking to get back on track. However, Hanzlik (6-2, 6-2), Bader (6-1, 6-3) and Cohen (6-3, 6-4) fell in succession, giving N.C. State a 4-0 lead, clinching the victory.
Once the match had been decided, Lee dropped his first singles match to Jaime Pulgar, 6-4, 6-1. Hasyn also fell in No. 6 singles to Rafael Paez (0-6, 7-5, 6-4). Welnetz provided a bright spot for the Nittany Lions in his fifth singes duel against Ivan Sanchez Gomez. The Texan took both sets, 6-2, in route to earning the lone point of the afternoon for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions will return to the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center this Saturday, Jan. 28, to open its home schedule. Penn State will begin a nine-match homestand with a doubleheader featuring St. Bonaventure at 10 a.m. followed by a contest against Lehigh at 3 p.m. The Nittany Lions swept both teams in a season-opening doubleheader at the Indoor Tennis Center last season. Admission is free to all fans.
#59 N.C. State 6, Penn State 1
Doubles:
1. Jason Lee/Russell Bader (PSU) def. Julian Sullivan/Sean Weber (NCSU), 8-4.
2. Dominic Hodgson/Matt Thomson (NCSU) def. Taylor Cohen/Chris Hasyn (PSU), 8-2.
3. Jaime Pulgar/Austin Powell (NCSU) def. Bryan Welnetz/Tomas Hanzlik (PSU), 9-7.
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
1. Jaime Pulgar (NCSU) vs. Jason Lee (PSU), 6-4, 6-1.
2. Dominic Hodgson (NCSU) vs. Russell Bader (PSU), 6-1, 6-3.
3. Robbie Mudge (NCSU) vs. Tomas Hanzlik (PSU), 6-2, 6-2.
4. Austin Powell (NCSU) vs. Taylor Cohen (PSU), 6-3, 6-4.
5. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) def. Ivan Sanchez Gomez (NCSU), 6-2, 6-2.
6. Rafael Paez (NCSU) vs. Chris Hasyn (PSU), 0-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Order of finish: 3, 2, 4, 1, 5, 6