ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's tennis team picked up a pair of wins over the weekend, defeating Otterbein 5-4 in non-conference action on Saturday and then earning a 9-0 sweep over Pitt-Bradford in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) play on Sunday at Westwood Racquet Club.
The Lions (8-4, 1-0 AMCC) have won six matches in a row and recorded their first conference victory of the season.
Against Otterbein, Behrend won three straight singles matches to erase a 4-2 deficit and pull out the one-point win. Yanique Apgar (Pittsburgh, PA) tallied a three-set decision at No. 1 singles to keep the winning streak alive for the Lions. He won 6-3 and then fell 7-5 before winning 6-4 to seal the victory.
Brenden Dollard (Pittsburgh, PA/Peters Township) and Brent McFarland (Austinburg, OH/Geneva) were the other two singles winners for Behrend. Dollard, playing at No. 3 singles, registered a 6-3, 6-4 win while McFarland followed at the No. 4 spot with a 7-5, 6-4 score.
The Lions posted a pair of wins in doubles action starting with Apgar and Scott Russell (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) teaming up for an 8-2 decision at No. 1 doubles. Dollard and McFarland got Behrend ahead 2-1 with an 8-4 win at the second spot.
In the conference match today, Behrend won all three doubles and six singles to record its fourth win by a score of 9-0 on the season.
Apgar and Russell had the same score from the previous match, winning 8-2 at No. 1 doubles against the Panthers. Dollard and McFarland blanked managed a perfect 8-0 score at No. 2, while Noah Colvin (Warren, PA/Warren) and Michael Duckett (Girard, PA/Fairview) were victorious at No. 3 with an 8-4 decision.
Apgar, Russell, Dollard and McFarland won their singles matches too. Michael Funera (Hermitage, PA/Hickory) and Belden Tuttle (Fairview, PA/Fairview) were successful at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively. Funera tallied a 6-1, 6-1 win and Tuttle added a 6-2, 6-1 decision.
The Lions return to action on Tuesday at Houghton. Match time is set for 4:30 p.m.
