The 38th-ranked University of Minnesota men's tennis team moved its season-long winning streak to five matches with a 5-2 victory over No. 54 Penn State tonight at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The Golden Gophers (12-9, 6-1 Big Ten) narrowly won the doubles point with a 2-1 mark and cruised to the team win with a 4-2 record in singles play.
The Maroon and Gold opened the dual with a 2-1 record in doubles action to take the early 1-0 lead. PSU (13-4, 3-4) got on the board first with Ryan Berger and Bradley Hunter's 8-6 win over Andres Osorio and Sion Wilkins at No. 2. The Golden Gophers struck back at No. 1 as Adrien Debreyne and Raoul Schwark rallied for a 9-8 (4) win over Mark Barry and Adam Slagter. The UM duo was down 3-0 in the set and 4-2 in the tiebreaker, but rallied for the much-needed win. The doubles point came down to No. 3 where Nic Edlefsen and D.J. Geatz came back from a 7-5 deficit to overtake James Dwyer and Malcolm Scatliffe, 9-8 (2). With the win, Edlefsen and Geatz pushed the win streak as a duo to five matches and improved to 5-2 in Big Ten action.
Minnesota used the momentum from the doubles wins to capture three consecutive straight-set singles matches to clinch the team victory. Osorio got UM started at No. 2 with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win over Scatliffe. Shortly thereafter, Geatz downed 110th-ranked Barry, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 1 to push the Golden Gopher lead to 3-0. Geatz, ranked 59th in the nation, has now won four consecutive matches against ranked opponents. Minnesota clinched the team win at No. 5 with Schwark's 7-6, 7-5 victory over Slagter. Schwark is now 7-0 in Big Ten play.
After a Nittany Lion win at No. 3, Debreyne pushed the UM lead to 5-1 with his 6-7 (4), 7-5, 1-0 (10-7) triumph over Michael James. With the win, Debreyne improved to 5-1 in conference matches. The dual wrapped up at No. 6 with PSU's Brenden Lynch edging Wilkins, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (3).
The Golden Gophers close out their regular season home schedule tomorrow with a dual against No. 64 Indiana at 12 p.m., at the Baseline Tennis Center. Minnesota wraps up the regular season next weekend at Illinois and Purdue before returning home to host the 2006 Big Ten Championship on April 27-30.
#38 Minnesota vs. #54 Penn State
April 14, 2006
Minneapolis, Minn.
Baseline Tennis Center
Singles
1. #59 D.J. Geatz (MN) def. #110 Mark Barry (PSU), 6-4, 6-4
2. Andres Osorio (MN) def. Malcolm Scatliffe (PSU), 6-2, 6-1
3. Ryan Berger (PSU) def. #121 Nic Edlefsen (MN), 7-6, 6-3
4. Adrien Debreyne (MN) def. Michael James (PSU), 6-7 (4), 7-5, 1-0 (10-7)
5. Raoul Schwark (MN) def. Adam Slagter (PSU), 7-6, 7-5
6. Brenden Lynch (PSU) def. Sion Wilkins (MN), 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (3)
Order of Finish: 2,1,5,3,4,6
Doubles
1. Debreyne/Schwark (MN) def. Barry/Slagter (PSU), 9-8 (4)
2. Berger/Hunter (PSU) def. Osorio/Wilkins (MN), 8-6
3. Edlefsen/Geatz (MN) def. James Dwyer/Scatliffe (PSU), 9-8 (2)
Order of Finish: 2,1,3
#38 Minnesota def. #54 Penn State, 5-2
