Netmen drop pair; winless in Big Ten

The Penn State men's tennis team went into the weekend hoping to come away with at least one win.

So much for wishful thinking. Instead of winning, it was easily defeated twice by Big Ten foes.

Against Illinois, only two Penn Staters came away with singles match victories. No. 1-seed junior Mike Griesser defeated junior Oliver Freelove in straight sets, 6-5, 6-3. The Lions also got a win from junior Eric Meditz when he squeaked through a three-set marathon to eventually win 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

Freshman Matthew Nielsen, who got manhandled by junior Jakub Teply, 6-1, 6-2, put the entire dual match into perspective.

"They were more aggressive than us," Nielsen said. "They had big serves that gave us problems all day."

Illinois, the Rolex No. 2-ranked team in the country, was expected to defeat Penn State. But the match to follow -- against Purdue -- was expected to be a dogfight.

- Matthew Nielsen, Penn State tennis player

Purdue won five of the six singles matches and took two of the three doubles matches as well.

The best competition of the day was the No. 1-seed matchup between Griesser and Purdue junior Cris James.

James, who was having trouble with his powerful serve, had to resort to finesse shots to overcome Griesser 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2.

"I returned well and thought I won a couple key points," James said. "I saw him get frustrated and I took advantage."

Purdue also won the No. 2-seed singles match when junior Jamie Gordon defeated Penn State senior Colin Smeeton in straight sets, 6-5, 6-1. Gordon and Smeeton were arguing over calls throughout the match and Gordon grew frustrated. He overcame it though and finished strong in the second set.

Penn State junior Eric Meditz lost his No. 4-seed singles match to freshman Jason Marshall, 6-2, 6-4. Marshall used his powerful forehand and serve to dominate Meditz.

"He overpowered me and that took me away from my game," Meditz said. "I should have mixed it up more."

The Meditz-Marshall match typified the entire weekend for the Lions. The strong, powerful players of Illinois and Purdue easily overpowered the Lions.

The Lions went into the weekend knowing two tough opponents were coming to visit and were aiming for a split.

Not so.

The Lions lost twice in one weekend for the second week in a row and saw their home losing streak grow to three games. If that wasn't enough, their Big Ten record plummeted to a putrid 0-5.