Netmen take 2 wins

By JERE GISH
Collegian Sports Writer

Following an emotional 4-3 win over Pennsylvania on Saturday, Men's Tennis Coach Jan Bortner said he was worried how his team would react yesterday in its match against Duquesne.

But the Lions avoided a letdown, coming out strong to defeat Duquesne 7-0 at the Penn State Tennis Center.

"I was anxious to see how these guys would bounce back today," Bortner said. "Coming off the emotional and physically draining match at Penn, I thought we played a super match."

The match was a tough one for the young Duquesne (11-7) squad. The Lions (5-2) swept the doubles matches and won five of the six singles matches in straight sets.

"We're a young team," Duquesne Coach Tony Martin said. "We lack the experience in playing a tough school like Penn State. They're a super team."

On Saturday, the Lions fought back after trailing 2-0, losing the doubles point and the second singles point, to pull out a the victory in Philadelphia.

"We played some great tennis to pull that match out," Bortner said. "We battled back."

Penn is one of the top teams in the East and the win was very important for the Lions.

"That was one of the matches that we were looking to at the beginning of the season," senior Lion Ivan Spinner said. "It was a real big win. I think everyone feels a lot more confident now."

Sophomore Chris Chang also said the Penn match was a great win. Chang said Bortner gave the team a 20 minute lecture Friday night that "really got us going."

"(The match) was unreal. I've never been a part of something like that," Chang added. "It was so intense. We had to win four (singles) matches to win the match. Everyone stuck together and gave it everything they had."

While the team was trailing 2-0, Brett Englesberg and Dale Cathell lost the first set of their singles matches, but both came back to win the next two sets.

"It's a big boost for morale. It's one of those matches where you're down and claw back. It was quite a comeback," Bortner said. "It's a good sign these guys can come back when they're down. It shows that you should never give up."