Gophers Turn Back Nittany Lions for First 2013-14 Victory
TOWSON, Md. — For Goucher, it was either get it done today or not get another chance for its first victory of the 2013-14 season until March.
TOWSON, Md. — For Goucher, it was either get it done today or not get another chance for its first victory of the 2013-14 season until March.
The Gophers opted not to wait as they pieced together a pair of wins in doubles play with three more from the top three players in their singles line-up to come out on top of Penn State Harrisburg, 5-4, on the home courts this afternoon. It was the final dual match of the fall portion of the 2013-14 schedule for head coach Brendan Kincaid's squad and it was also Goucher's victory during the fall since a 5-4 triumph over McDaniel on October 6, 2009.
Each team picked up a point for an 8-1 win in one of the doubles matches — for Goucher, it was by Seth Hoesman (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) and David Spivey (Cockeysville, Md./The Park School) at No. 1; for the opponent, it was at No. 3. The Gophers (1-2) gained the upper hand in the match by earning a crucial second point during the doubles competition thanks to an 8-5 win at No. 2 by Midori Fujitani (Tokyo, Japan/International School Bangkok) and Chad Resnik (Miami, Fla./Pinecrest School) over Ben Leibig and Tyler Miller.
Still, a 2-1 lead at the conclusion of doubles play requires a team to at least split the six singles matches to win the overall match and that's exactly how it played out for the Gophers.
Fujitani earned Goucher's first team point during singles play as he quickly disposed of Miller 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3. Hoesman and Spivey also did their parts: Hoesman by downing Johnny Xue 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 and Spivey by securing a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Leibig at No. 2.
The Nittany Lions (2-1) took the other three singles matches in straight sets.
