Michigan State University
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Western Mich
Men's Tennis Defeats Intrastate Rival Western Michigan
3/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 27, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 54 Michigan State men's tennis team completed its home indoor schedule Wednesday, March 27 by defeating Western Michigan, 6-1. This was also the last non-conference match for the Spartans as they finished 12-3 out of the Big Ten.
State (13-5 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) opened the match against the Broncos (10-10, 1-0 MAC) by picking up the doubles point that went down to the wire. Sophomores Chris Mitchell (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Eric Simonton (Annandale, N.J.) were triumphant at No. 2, 8-3, but juniors Adam Hourani (Lansing, Mich.) and Jimmy McGuire (Columbus, Ohio) fell at No. 1, 8-5. With all the momentum heading into singles riding on the No. 3 match, junior Goran Topalo (Prague, Czech Rep.) and sophomore Mike Jonckheere (London, Ont.) stepped up late. As neither team was able to break serve, the MSU duo took control of the tiebreaker, winning two mini-breaks en-route to a 9-8(3) victory.
"I've definitely been practicing harder and have more energy in practice," said Topalo. "After spring break I got a lot of confidence and I've been believing in myself more. My serve also helped me a lot today."
With No. 2 singles player Andrew Formanczyk (Fr., Rochester Hills, Mich.) day-to-day with a quad injury, the rest of the Spartans provided added depth to fill the hole. McGuire opened the singles scoring with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3. Topalo, meanwhile, came up with a huge serve to take the lead, 4-3, in his second-set tiebreaker. He would eventually go on to win his first match of the year at No. 2, 6-3, 7-6(3). Simonton also needed a tiebreaker in his second set for the Spartans fourth and deciding point of the evening. He won the final four points at No. 4 to claim the match, 6-3, 7-6(5).
With the victory sealed, sophomore Mike Hodge (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and freshman Cameron Marshall (Louisville, Ky.) added two more points to MSU's total. Hodge continued his dominance in dual matches. With his 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 6, he is now 5-0 for the spring season. Marshall then picked up the final point for the Spartans at No. 5, winning his 22nd match of the year in a close three setter, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2).
"I knew it would be a tough match," said head coach Gene Orlando. "It's a pretty heated rivalry. They're a good team and I knew we had to play well. Our team's getting more experienced and we're definitely nurturing as a team."
The Spartans conclude their week by returning to the Big Ten schedule Friday, March 29, when they travel to No. 17 Minnesota.
Wednesday's Results Against Western MichiganDoublesNo. 1 Maarschalk/Pathanjali (WMU) def. Hourani/McGuire (MSU) 8-5No. 2 Mitchell/Simonton (MSU) def. Brattstrom/Dennis (WMU) 8-3No. 3 Jonckheere/Topalo (MSU) def. Findling/Grupp (WMU) 9-8(3)
SinglesNo. 1 Ravishankar Pathanjali (WMU) def. Chris Mitchell (MSU) 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 1-0(3)No. 2 Goran Topalo (MSU) def. Ryan Maarschalk (WMU) 6-3, 7-6(3)No. 3 Jimmy McGuire (MSU) def. Christian Brattstrom (WMU) 6-4, 6-4No. 4 Eric Simonton (MSU) def. Justin Kates (WMU) 6-3, 7-6(5)No. 5 Cameron Marshall (MSU) def. Erik Lindroos (WMU) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2)No. 6 Mike Hodge (MSU) def. Thomas Dennis (WMU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4No. 54 Michigan State defeats Western Michigan, 6-1.
