Lehigh University Athletics
Men's tennis kicks off spring season Sunday at Penn State
1/21/2011 8:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's tennis team opens up the spring season on Sunday when the Mountain Hawks travel to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions. Lehigh is coming off one of its strongest seasons in recent memory in 2010, which culminated with a 10-12 record and the program's first Patriot League semifinal appearance. The Mountain Hawks have evolved into a talented team with strong veteran leaders making expectations high for Lehigh in 2011.
The 2011 Mountain Hawks will be led by a four player senior class that has seen extensive court time throughout their careers. Lehigh's leader on and off the court is Troy List, the 2010 Patriot League Player of the Year who enters his third season as the Mountain Hawks' top singles player. List won 14 singles matches a season ago and enjoyed a strong fall season. Another senior, Collin Laffey will occupy the No. 2 spot in Lehigh's singles lineup. Laffey won 12 singles matches last season and earned second team All-Patriot League honors. He will team with List to form Lehigh's top doubles team. The duo went 13-8 in doubles last season and won the doubles title at the Georgetown Classic in September.
Rounding out the senior class are Arnaldo Pacheco and Cameron Silbert, who have often been paired together as a doubles team for the Mountain Hawks, but both men are also capable of filling a spot in the singles lineup.
With all six singles starters returning for Lehigh plus the addition of two talented freshmen, competition will be high for spots in the lineup.
The junior class features Leland Richardson, Ryan Krueger and Edgars Rauza. Richardson saw a lot of time at No. 3 singles last season, while Krueger split time between the fourth and fifth spots for the Mountain Hawks. Rauza is a capable contributor in both singles and doubles.
Sophomores Matt Savran and Andrew Krentz return as singles starters as well. Savran went 7-6 playing primarily No. 4 singles. A strong doubles performer Savran won eight doubles matches including a 7-3 mark on Lehigh's No. 2 doubles team. Krentz enjoyed a strong year at the bottom of the singles lineup, going 9-5 at No. 6 singles and 11-5 overall. On more than one occasion, Krentz propelled Lehigh to a victory with a win in the final match.
Head coach Dave Shook enters his 22nd season, and has brought in two talented freshmen in Mark Goldberg and Timur Chernykh to challenge the returning group. Goldberg has a strong chance to contribute right away as evidenced by a singles title won at a college invitational at the National Tennis Center in September.
Penn State will open its spring season on Sunday with a match against St. Bonaventure in the morning before meeting the Mountain Hawks in the afternoon. The Nittany Lions were 15-11 last year and lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
Following Sunday's match, Lehigh will head home to the friendly confines of the Lewis Tennis Center for its next ten matches. The Mountain Hawks will face Florida Gulf Coast and SIU-Edwardsville on their spring break trip to Fort Myers, Fla. Patriot League play begins on March 26 against Holy Cross at West Point, N.Y. while the Mountain Hawks will also have the luxury of hosting the league tournament April 15-17 on the Ulrich Varsity Courts.
Sunday's match is set for a 3 p.m. start from University Park, Pa.
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