WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.; Feb. 22, 2009 – The Penn State men’s tennis team (5-4, 1-0) opened the Big Ten season in style on Sunday, defeating Purdue, 4-3. The Nittany Lions have won three consecutive matches, and will host the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on March 5.
Penn State came out and won all three doubles matches to clinch the doubles point. The Lions then went on to win three of the six singles matches to earn the 4-3 victory. Junior Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) clinched the match point for the Nittany Lions.
“We had a great day and competed really well in doubles,” said head coach Todd Doebler. “In singles, all and all it was a good effort. It was nice to open Big Ten competition with a win.”
In doubles action, the pairing of St-Maurice and senior Brendan Lynch (North Potomac, Md.) earned the first doubles victory for the Nittany Lions, as they downed Purdue’s Paul Foley and Eric Ramos, 8-5. Lynch and St-Maruice improve to a team-best 7-1 in doubles this season.
In the No. 2 doubles bout, junior Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) and freshman Eddie Bourchier (Hobart, Australia) defeated Purdue’s Branko Kuzmanovic and P.J. Rose, 8-3, to clinch the doubles point for the Lions. With the doubles point clinched, senior Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) and freshman Jason Lee (Melbourne, Australia) beat Purdue’s Slavko Bijelica and Griff Nienberg, 8-4.
With Penn State leading 1-0, the match moved to singles action. In the No. 2 matchup, Lynch defeated Ramos in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, to give the Lions an early 2-0 advantage. In the No. 1 bout, Slagter took on Bijeclica. The first set went to a tiebreaker, where Bijeclica won, 7-6 (2). From there, the Purdue standout went on to win the second set, 6-4, to clinch a point for the Boilermakers. Penn State led, 2-1.
In the No. 3 matchup, Kuzmanovic defeated Gormley in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, to tie up the match at two. Penn State answered back though, as Bourchier downed Purdue’s Roberto Cabrini in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Penn State had a 3-2 advantage.
The clinching match came in the No. 6 bout. St-Maurice took on Foley. Foley had the early advantage on St-Maurice, as he stole the first set, 6-4. St-Maurice did not let up though, as he took the final sets, 6-2, 6-0, to clinch the match for the Lions.
With the match already determined, Rose defeated Lee in straight sets, 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (8), to make the final score of the match 4-3 in favor of Penn State.
Penn State will host a critical Big Ten matchup vs. the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes on March 5 at 3 p.m. at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center. Following the matchup with the Buckeyes, the Lions head to College Park, Md. to face-off with Maryland on March 8.
Final Score: #45 Penn State 4 def. Purdue 3
Doubles
1. Adam Slagter/Jason Lee (PSU) def. Slavko Bijelica/Griff Nienberg (PUR), 8-4
2. Ryan Gormley/Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Branko Kuzmanovic/P.J. Rose (PUR), 8-3
3. Guillaume St.-Maurice/Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Paul Foley/Eric Ramos (PUR), 8-5
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1.Slavko Bijelica (PUR) def. Adam Slagter (PSU), 7-6 (2), 6-4
2. Brendan Lynch (PSU) def. Eric Ramos (PUR), 6-2, 6-0
3.Branko Kuzmanovic (PUR) def. Ryan Gormley (PSU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. Roberto Cabrini (PUR), 6-3, 6-4
5.P.J. Rose (PUR) def. Jason Lee (PSU), 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (8)
6. Guillaume St.-Maurice (PSU) def. Paul Foley (PUR), 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 5
