STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Sophomore Kyle Berman registered his first collegiate dual match victories at both singles and doubles at an opportune time on Sunday, propeling the men's tennis team to a 4-3 victory over Penn State on Sunday in its first scoring match of the season.
 
Berman started off the day teamed with classmate Sam Fleck on the Big Red's No. 3 doubles entry. With the first two doubles matches split, Berman and Fleck secured the match's first point with a 9-7 victory over Penn State's Matt Barry and C.J. Griffin.
 
That point would turn out to be crucial, as the teams went on to split the singles matches in a showdown that lasted more than five hours at Sarni Tennis Center. Five of the six singles matches went to three sets, with the eventual victor dropping the first set in four of the tilts.
 
Penn State (0-2) locked down the first two points in singles to take a 2-1 lead, but Fleck then rallied to win a three-set match at No. 2 over Roman Trkulja to even the score. The Nittany Lions won the next match to conclude before sophomore Jason Luu pulled the Big Red even once again with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory at the No. 5 spot.
 
That set the stage at for the decisive points at No. 6 singles for Berman, who appeared in just one singles match and one doubles match in dual matches as a freshman. Berman outlasted David Kohan, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1.
 
The Big Red's No. 2 doubles team of Quoc-Daniel Nguyen and Luu easily won its match, 8-2. The match was Cornell's first victory against Penn State since Feb. 7, 2004. The Big Red returns to action at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26 at George Washington.
 
No. 69 CORNELL 4, PENN STATE 3
Sunday; at Sarni Tennis Center; State College, Pa.
Singles
1. Bryan Welnetz (P) def. Venkat Iyer, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
2. Sam Fleck (C) def. Roman Trkulja, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.
3. Tomas Hanzlik (P) def. Alex Sidney, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
4. Russell Bader (P) def. Quoc-Daniel Nguyen, 6-3, 6-1.
5. Jason Luu (C) def. Matt Barry, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
6. Kyle Berman (C) def. David Kohan, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1.
Doubles
1. Bader/Trkulja (P) def. Iyer/Patrick Fiaux, 8-3
2. Nguyen/Luu (C) def. Welnetz/Hanzlik, 8-2
3. Berman/Fleck (C) def. Barry/C.J. Griffin, 9-7

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3), Singles (4,1,2,3,5,6)
Records: Cornell 1-0, Penn State 0-2.