Michigan State University
Penn St
Men's Tennis Shuts Down Penn State
4/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 8, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis team shut down Penn State, 4-3, at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Facility on Sunday, April 8.
It was a tight match throughout, beginning with the doubles point. The Spartans recorded their first win at No. 2 doubles where sophomore's Jimmy McGuire (Columbus, Ohio) and Adam Hourani (Lansing, Mich.) defeated Penn State's Michael Anderson and Brad Nudell, 8-6. Sophomore Goran Topalo (Prague, Czech Rep.) and freshman Mike Jonckheere (London, Ont.) followed with an exciting win at No. 1 doubles, taking Jamie Gresh and Matt Nielsen in a tiebreaker, 9-8(4), to secure the doubles point for Michigan State. At No. 3 doubles, the Nittany Lions retired realizing the Spartans had already won the doubles point.
In singles competition, Spartan winners included freshman Eric Simonton (Annandale, NJ), who defeated PSU's Steven Van Der Westhuyzen, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 2, and Jonckheere, who knocked off Brad Nudell, 7-5, 6-1, at No. 6. Hourani lost in three sets at the No. 3 singles (6-1, 2-6, 6-4) to PSU's Matt Nielsen. The match was tied 3-3 following Hourani's loss, so the Spartans needed a victory from McGuire at No. 4 singles to end an eight-match losing streak. The No. 4 singles match went down to the wire with McGuire taking the third set from PSU's Matt Frakes in a tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(5), to give Michigan State its first win since Feb. 25.
"It feels good to finally get a win," MSU head coach Gene Orlando said. "It was great to win the doubles point and see our guys close out some singles matches. With all the injuries we have sustained this season and with how young our squad is, it is great to get a win."
The Spartans (7-13, 1-5 Big Ten) will entertain rival Michigan on Wednesday, April 11 at 6 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility on the corner of Mt. Hope and Harrison Road.
"Michigan is a good team it should be an exciting match," Orlando said. " Maybe with this win today, we can start a winning streak. It would be nice to post back-to-back wins."
Michigan State def. Penn State, 4-3
Singles Results#1 Jamie Gresh (PSU) def. Goran Topalo (MSU) 4-0 inj.#2 Eric Simonton (MSU) def. Steven Van Der Westhuyzen 7-5, 6-2#3 Matt Nielsen (PSU) def. Adam Hourani (MSU) 6-1, 2-6, 6-4#4 Jimmy McGuire (MSU) def. Matt Frakes 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(5)#5 Todd Stecko (PSU) def. Rodrigo Abucham (MSU) 6-1, 6-4#6 Mike Jonckheere (MSU) def. Brad Nudell (PSU) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles Results#1 Jonckheere/Topalo (MSU) def. Gresh/Nielsen 9-8(4)#2 Hourani/McGuire (MSU) def. Michael Anderson/Nudell (PSU) 8-6#3 Abucham/Jason Chen (MSU) def. Frakes/Van Der Westhuyzen (PSU) 5-6 ret.
