UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 31, 2007 ¨C After defeating Colgate and Lehigh to open 2007, the 52nd-ranked Penn State men¡¯s tennis team will be back at Sarni Tennis Center on Saturday at Noon for a match against the Cornell.

After blanking Colgate and Lehigh to open the season, Penn State (2-0) will look to continue its strong play this weekend against an experienced Cornell team.

¡°Cornell is a well-coached, experienced team that is driven by their senior leadership,¡± said head coach Todd Doebler. ¡°They have a group of strong doubles players, and all-in-all, we expect Cornell to come out and play a great match on Saturday. We are looking forward to see how we compete and play as a team from top to bottom.¡±

In doubles, junior Michael James (Clifton, Va.) and sophomore Adam Slagter (Austin, Texas) will look to continue their hot streak of play after posting two dominating wins against Colgate and Lehigh. James/Slagter dropped only one game in two matches last weekend. The duo is currently 7-1 on the season and ranked 23rd in the ITA National Doubles Poll.

James also started the spring off with pair of straight-set wins in singles. James won 24 out of 26 games in his two matches at the No.1 spot against Colgate and Lehigh. The junior, who is ranked 18th in the ITA Northeast Region, holds a team-best 13-2 record on the season in singles play.

At the No. 2 spot, senior Ryan Berger (Grand Rapids, Mich.) also began the season with two convincing victories in the Nittany Lion wins over Colgate and Lehigh. Berger improved his senior season record to 9-4. He boosted his career numbers to a combined 79-35.

Slagter improved his singles record to 7-4 on the season after a dominating victory (6-2, 6-4) over Colgate¡¯s Marshall Wheeler at the No. 3 spot. Freshman Guillaume St-Maurice (Saint-Eustache, Quebec) opened the spring at the No. 4 spot. St-Maurice posted two straight-set victories in his first ever dual matches last weekend, boosting his collegiate record to 10-3.

Junior James Dwyer (Peachtree City, Ga.) went 2-0 at the No. 5 spot in the first two duals of the season. Dwyer now holds a 5-3 record this year. Ryan Gormley (Las Vegas, Nev.) began his rookie spring with a pair of wins on Jan. 28. Gormley is 6-2 in his first year as a collegian.

This will mark Cornell¡¯s first dual match of 2007. The Big Red last competed at the Cornell Fall Indoor Invitational at the end of October. Cornell is led by four seniors and two juniors this season. The Big Red has two doubles teams ranked in the Top 50 of the ITA National Doubles Poll. The doubles duo of Nicholas Brunner and Joshua Raff occupy the No. 41 spot in the rankings, while Tongle Yu and Jonathan Fife are tied for 44th in the national rankings.

The Nittany Lions will continue their homestand on Saturday, Feb. 10 with a pair of matches against St. Bonaventure (10 a.m.) and Bloomsburg (5 p.m.). The Nittany Lions will conclude the weekend with a match against St. John¡¯s slated for 10 a.m. All three matches will be held at Sarni Tennis Center. Admission is free.