Netmen to face Bonnies

The Penn State men's tennis team, coming off a 7-0 sweep of Eastern Michigan on Sunday, faces an improving St. Bonaventure squad at 3:30 p.m. today at the Penn State Tennis Center.

Second-year St. Bonaventure coach Michael Bates said the Penn State match is important for his team.

"We're trying to build our program, and I expect to compete with them," Bates said.

Bates said he expects the Nittany Lions (4-5) to be on about the same level as George Washington and Pennsylvania, which both have beaten the Bonnies. The Lions beat George Washington, 6-1, on March 8.

Two key players for St. Bonaventure (7-4) are its top two singles players, J.P. Gingris and Phil Radciejewski. Lion coach Jan Bortner is wary of the upstart Bonnies.

"This is a team that has really been on an upswing," he said. "They're going to try to come in and get the upset."

The Lions are rebounding from an 0-3 start -- all on the road -- against Northwestern, Wisconsin and Harvard. The Lions then beat George Washington in their first home match before losing to Florida International on the road.

The Lions returned to the tennis center to defeat Eastern Michigan and will try to keep the momentum going against St. Bonaventure. However, Penn State likely will be without the services of usual No. 2 doubles player Lee Hecht, who missed the Eastern Michigan match with a shoulder injury.

"We're 4-5. Each match you get closer to .500, it helps your confidence," Lion freshman Marc Dorfman said. "It's a pretty big match."

While it is an out-of-conference match, it still is very important for both squads. With a win, St. Bonaventure improves to 8-4. The Lions need a win to salvage the early part of the spring season.

Bortner said tough non-conference matches are critical to the team's preparation for the Big Ten season, which resumes March 29 against Minnesota

"We try to play a real tough non-conference schedule," he said. "Come Big Ten championships, our guys will be ready for the challenge."

Bortner added that if a team wants to qualify for NCAA Eastern Regionals, it probably needs to have a difficult schedule.

"The Big Ten matches are a lot tougher than these matches, but a win is a win," Dorfman said, "and we'll take what we can get."