Minnesota swept a trio of three-set singles matches and went on to defeat Penn State 6-1 on Friday at the Baseline Tennis Center.
The 44th-ranked Gophers improved to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten with its fourth victory in the last five matches. Penn State, ranked 58th nationally, is now 12-5 overall and 1-2 in the league after losing for the fourth time in its last five outings.
The Gophers improved to 9-1 this season when taking the doubles point as Rok Bonin and Tobias Wernet clinched the point with a tiebreaker win over Eddie Bourchier and Guillaume St-Maurice at No. 2. Dino Bilankov and Julian Dehn cruised to an 8-1 win at No. 3 for Minnesota.
Bilankov rolled to a 6-3, 6-2 singles win over Warren Hardie at No. 4 to put Minnesota ahead 2-0 before Bourchier notched the Nittany Lions' lone victory with an upset of 66th-ranked Sebastian Gallego at No. 1 by a 6-4, 6-2 score. Phillip Arndt put Minnesota ahead 3-1 with his 6-1, 7-6 victory over Bryan Welnetz at No. 5.
The remaining three matches went three sets and the Gophers prevailed in all three. Rok Bonin rallied from losing the opening set to beat Jason Lee 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 and Tobias Wernet notched a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win over Ryan Gormley at No. 2. Brendan Ruddock finished off the sweep of the three-set matches with his 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 win over St-Maurice.
The Gophers host second-ranked Ohio State on Sunday at noon at the Baseline Tennis Center. The Buckeyes are 19-1 overall and have won 56 straight Big Ten matches after beating Iowa on Friday.
#44 Minnesota 6, #58 Penn State 1
Singles
1. Eddie Bourchier (PSU) def. #66 Sebastian Gallego (MINN) 6-4, 6-2
2. #105 Tobias Wernet (MINN) def. Ryan Gormley (PSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
3. Rok Bonin (MINN) def. Jason Lee (PSU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. Dino Bilankov (MINN) def. Warren Hardie (PSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Phillip Arndt (MINN) def. Bryan Welnetz (PSU) 6-1, 7-6
6. Brendan Ruddock (MINN) def. Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
Doubles
1. Warren Hardie/Jason Lee (PSU) def. #27 Phillip Arndt/Sebastian Gallego (MINN) 8-5
2. Rok Bonin/Tobias Wernet (MINN) def. Eddie Bourchier/Guillaume St-Maurice (PSU) 9-8
3. Dino Bilankov/Julian Dehn (MINN) def. Ryan Gormley/Bryan Welnetz (PSU) 8-1
Match Notes:
Penn State 12-5, 1-2 Big Ten; National ranking #58
Minnesota 9-6, 2-1 Big Ten; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,1,5,3,2,6)
