MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Middle Tennessee rounded out play at the 2010 Blue Gray Classic against No. 44 Penn State Saturday afternoon falling 4-1.
Middle Tennessee began play by taking the doubles point for a 1-0 lead. Juniors
John Peers and
Kyle Wishing teamed up taking an 8-2 win over Eddie Bourchier and Jason Lee. Then sophomore
Richard Cowden and freshman
Shaun Waters pulled out their match 8-6 over Ryan Gormley and Warren Hardie.
"With
Victor Melo out of lineup we had to rearrange the doubles lineup. Kyle and John had a good win and then Richard and Shaun got the W to give us the doubles point. They were up 6-2 and made it more difficult than it needed to be but pulled it out in the end," head coach David McNamara said.
Penn State did not take singles lightly as it opened with Guillaume St-Maurice taking a 6-0, 6-0 win over Wishing. Then Langley fell 6-2, 6-3 to Bryan Weinetz as the Nittany Lion took a 2-1 lead.
Wrapping up play for the Blue Raiders in the match, senior
Alex McCann fell 6-4, 6-2 to Hardie while Cowden lost his match 6-3, 6-2 to Gormley..
"To play Penn State tough like we did without Victor and were capable of beating them was good to see. However as has been the case in other matches this season we had a hard time closing at the end and winning close points," McNamara said. "The biggest message to team is when we play the Sun Belt Shootout it will give us a good idea of where we are in league. I feel we have a shot at winning it especially with the way we have played against top teams this season. It was brought to my attention other day that the team who has won Sun Belt Shootout last few years has gone on to win the conference tournament. The guys need to keep getting better individually and if they continue to do that then we will be better as a team.
Middle Tennessee will be back in action on Sunday, March 28 at noon when it plays host to East Tennessee State. It will be the first match of the season at the
Buck Bouldin Tennis Center on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
#44 Penn State 4, Middle Tennessee 1
Singles
1. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) vs. #43 John Peers (MT) 6-3, 3-6, 2-0, unfinished
2. Ryan Gormley (PSU) def. Richard Cowden (MT) 6-3, 6-2
3. Jason Lee (PSU) vs. Shaun Waters (MT) 7-6, 1-1, unfinished
4. Warren Hardie (PSU) def. Alex McCann (MT) 6-4, 6-2
5. Bryan Weinetz (PSU) def. Matthew Langley (MT) 6-2, 6-3
6. G. St-Maurice (PSU) def. Kyle Wishing (MT) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1. Kyle Wishing/John Peers (MT) def. Eddie Bourchier/Jason Lee (PSU) 8-2
2. Richard Cowden/Shaun Waters (MT) def. Ryan Gormley/Warren Hardie (PSU) 8-6
3. G. St-Maurice/Taylor Cohen (PSU) def. Matthew Langley/Alex McCann (MT) 8-4
Match Notes:
Middle Tennessee 4-14
Penn State 12-3; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,5,4,2)
