Michigan State University
Louisville
Men's Tennis Upsets No. 51 Louisville, Defeats Valparaiso
2/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 10, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's tennis team improved its record to 7-1 after a 4-3 upset of No. 51 Louisville and a 6-1 triumph over Valparaiso Sunday (Feb. 10). MSU (7-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) has already equaled last season's win total in less than one month.
Wrapping up an eight match home stand, State hosted Louisville (3-5, 0-0 C-USA) this afternoon and Valparaiso (1-3, 0-0 Mid-Con) at night.
The Cardinals defeated the Spartans 7-0 last year. The doubles point came down to the No. 3 position after sophomore Chris Mitchell (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and freshman Andrew Formanczyk (Rochester Hills, Mich.) won their fourth match together at two, but juniors Adam Houarni (Lansing, Mich.) and Goran Topalo (Prague, Czech. Rep.) could not muster their doubles magic from previous matches, falling 9-7.
Despite trailing 1-0, the Spartans carried some momentum into the singles matches. MSU freshman and Louisville native Cameron Marshall got the Spartans rolling with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles. Formanczyk, Topalo and junior Jimmy McGuire (Columbus, Ohio) picked up wins at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5, respectively, to secure the upset.
"It was a premiere match for me," explained Marshall, whose singles record now stands at 14-7. "I was really pumped up to beat my hometown team, but primarily we wanted to get back at them after last year."
The night session saw a change of the lineup for head coach Gene Orlando. But the Crusaders could not handle the Spartan depth, losing to MSU 6-1. The only loss came at two singles where junior Todd Townsend (East Lansing, Mich.) played in his first match of the year after being sidelined following shoulder surgery. Townsend needed a medical timeout between the second and third sets to nurse his arm, but was able to finish the match courageously.
"I wanted to give Todd a chance to play high in the lineup," said Orlando. "I wanted to challenge him because he's a great competitor, but it was just a tough break. I learned a lot from his match, though, and I feel good about his game."
A large part of the team's success today--and so far this season--can be contributed to experience.
"We didn't lose anyone last year so everyone is a year older with a little more experience," described Orlando. "Formanczyk and Marshall have also been able to step in and win."
Michigan State will have nine days of rest before entering the toughest part of its schedule. State's next match is at Notre Dame, currently ranked tenth in the nation, Wednesday, February 23.
Sunday's Results Against No. 51 LouisvilleDoublesNo. 1 Conley/Nicodim (UL) def. McGuire/Simonton (MSU) 8-4No. 2 Formanczyk/Mitchell (MSU) def. Maskill/Sivertsen (UL) 8-6No. 3 Mayer/McCombe (UL) def. Hourani/Topalo (MSU) 9-7
SinglesNo. 1 Cody Conley (UL) def. Chris Mitchell (MSU) 6-1, 6-2No. 2 Andrew Formanczyk (MSU) def. Paulo Carvalho (UL) 6-2, 7-5No. 3 Goran Topalo (MSU) def. Alex Sivertsen (UL) 6-3, 6-4No. 4 Octavian Nicodim (UL) def. Eric Simonton (MSU) 6-2, 6-4No. 5 Jimmy McGuire (MSU) def. Matt Mayer (UL) 7-5, 6-0No. 6 Cameron Marshall (MSU) def. Brent McCombe (UL) 6-3, 6-2Michigan State defeats Louisville, 4-3
Sunday's Results Against ValparaisoDoublesNo. 1 Hodge/Jonckheere (MSU) def. Buckert/Vuko (Valpo) 8-6No. 2 Hourani/Townsend (MSU) def. Hill/Dunham-Freer (Valpo) 8-6No. 3 Marshall/Stefani (MSU) def. Vrabel/Loeber (Valpo) 8-2
SinglesNo. 1 Mike Hodge (MSU) def. Nate Buckert (Valpo) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5No. 2 Nick Vuko (Valpo) def. Todd Townsend (MSU) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4No. 3 Mike Jonckheere (MSU) def. Chris Hill (Valpo) 6-4, 6-2No. 4 Anthony Stefani (MSU) def. Ben Dunham-Freer 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-4No. 5 Eric Simonton (MSU) def. Jeff Vrabel (Valpo) 6-4, 6-1No. 6 Cameron Marshall (MSU) def. Rob Loeber (Valpo) 6-0, 6-2Michigan State defeats Valparaiso, 6-1
