Saturday, 03/17/2012

ITHACA, N.Y. — The men's tennis team plays its final non-league home match of the season on Saturday when it welcomes Penn State to Reis Tennis Center for 1 p.m. clash.
 
Following a home doubleheader sweep of Illinois State and Temple in its last action March 3, Cornell is 7-8 overall and 6-0 on its home courts. Freshman Alex Sidney won both of his matches that day to improve to 8-5 on the season, which is tied for best on the team with sophomore Venkat Iyer. Iyer is the Big Red's primary No. 1 while holding down a national ranking of 109th.
 
Penn State is 9-4, having lost its last two matches under first-year head coach Jeff Zinn. Eight of the team's letterwinners from last season return, including five starters.
 
After earning a split on a trip south to Central Florida and South Florida, the Nittany Lions kicked off Big Ten play with a 7-0 loss at No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday. The 19th-ranked doubles team of senior Jason Lee and sophomore Russell Bader won its No. 1 match against a ranked pair from the Buckeyes.
 
Lee serves as the Nittany Lions' No. 1  singles player, posting a 4-6 record in dual matches to date. Freshman Tomas Hanzlik (7-5) and Bader (10-3) round out the top half of the lineup.