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No. 6 Penn State pounces No. 11 Iowa, 5-0
April 27, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS - After giving Iowa its only Big Ten win of the season two weeks ago, Penn State did not want to linger on the memory of that regular season match when it opened the Big Ten Championship facing the 11th-seeded Hawkeyes. The eighth-seeded Nittany Lions put it behind them in dominating fashion, winning 5-0 to advance to Friday's second round. The match started with fierce competition in all three doubles matches. Penn State's No. 3 pair of Malcolm Scatliffe and Brenden Lynch edged Iowa's Christian Bierich and Aaron Schaechterle, 8-6, to give the Nittany Lions an early advantage. But the Hakweyes struck back when Bart van Monsjou and J.P. Ritchie took out Mark Barry and Adam Slagter, 9-7, in a back-and-forth No. 1 doubles battle. Ryan Berger and Bradley Hunter sealed the doubles point for PSU with an 8-4 victory over Brett Taylor and Kyle Markhan. The clinching decision improved Berger and Hunter's doubles record to 20-7 on the season. Hunter started things off for the Nittany Lions singles attack, making quick work of Gregory Holm in the No. 6 match (6-0, 6-1). Next, Berger counted his 22nd win of the season in a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Ritchie to give PSU a 3-0 lead. With only one point needed to secure a second-round matchup, the Nittany Lions got two big wins to seal Iowa's fate with Barry and Slagter claiming simultaneous victories No. 1 and No. 6 singles, respectively. Barry improved to 24-11 overall with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over van Monsjou, while Slagter defeated Taylor 6-4, 6-4 for his 28th win of the season. The Nittany Lions take on the hosting Minnestoa Gophers, who are seeded third, at 2 p.m. Friday at the Baseline Tennis Center.
Singles Doubles
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