MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - In his first outing as Penn State Harrisburg head coach, Andrew Bookman led his men's team to a 5-4 victory over Messiah, his alma mater, at the Hoverter Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 16. 

Owen Ou and Derwin Merca led the way in doubles action, with the pair winning the No. 2 match 8-4 over Messiah's Michael Niemi and Gregory Valdez. Penn State Harrisburg's top duo of Cooper Wheeler and Andrew Schreck were edged by Chase Wilson and Timothy Sheaffer 8-6 in the top contest, while Vik Patel and Clayton Herb fell to Messiah's Luke Risser and Ben Anspach in the No. 3 outing.

Merca completed his day with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Risser in the No. 4 singles match, while Schreck fell to Niemi in three sets in the No. 2 contest. Patel rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win against Valdez in the fifth matchup and Ou worked hard to earn a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Anspach in the No. 4 contest. Wheeler clinched the match with a thrilling win in the top solo matchup when he outlasted Wilson 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. Herb completed the lineup with a loss to Elijah Noll in the sixth and final outing. 

With the first win of the season under their belts, the Lions will look to build on the momentum when they host Albright for another non-conference tilt on Wednesday afternoon.