Men's Tennis Shines At ITA Midwest Regionals

Oct. 25, 2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's men's tennis team completed day three Saturday of the 2003 ITA Midwest Regionals held at MSU. The Spartans' four singles players all advanced to the round of 32 and one doubles team reached the third round.

Senior Eric Simonton (Annandale, N.J.) opened singles action in the round of 64 against qualifier Carey Rubin of Michigan. After each player held serve twice for a 2-2 tie, Simonton used a strong forehand that Rubin could not return to convert a break point and take the lead for good. Simonton used another break of serve en route to claiming the first set, 6-2.

An ace helped secure the first game for Simonton in the second set as he cruised out to a 5-1 lead. Rubin battled back to diminish the advantage to 5-3, but Simonton broke serve in the next game to enter the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

"I don't know if I was nervous or excited," said Simonton. "Probably more excited because it was my first time playing at home in a big tournament. Better focus and working more on the small things like moving my feet (helped out). I broke him so many times before so I was confident I could break again (at 5-3)."

Juniors Andrew Formanczyk (Rochester Hills, Mich.) and Cameron Marshall (Louisville, Ky.) were next in line and had the comfort of playing their first round matches on adjacent courts. Formanczyk, seeded No. 7 in singles, was surprised by Indiana's Ryan Recht in the first set as the Spartan lefty fell 6-3. Fortunately, Formanczyk boosted his game and won the second set, 6-4, with a forehand passing shot down the line on Recht's serve. Recht's chances for an upset diminished when Formanczyk painted a backhand volley on the baseline for another service break as well as the match, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Marshall also fell behind a set, dropping a 7-6(0) decision to Ball State's Matt Laramore. But like Formanczyk, Marshall captured the second set with a 6-3 win and eventually took a 5-2 lead in the third. After Laramore held serve and converted a break point to bring the match back on serve, Marshall added a break of his own as Laramore hit a backhand into the net for the MSU victory, 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-4.

Hoping to improve Michigan State's record in singles to 4-0, senior Chris Mitchell (Ann Arbor, Mich.) took on Eastern Illinois' C.J. Weber in what ended up being the final singles battle of the day. With the match on serve at 6-5 in the first set, Weber added three double faults, one on set point, to put Mitchell ahead. The second set was tight as well with Weber managing to hold off three match points at 5-4 to tie it at 5-5, ultimately leading to a tiebreaker. This time Mitchell staved off three set points and once Weber hit a Mitchell serve into the net at 8-8, Mitchell lined up a forehand return winner on the next point to seal the match, 7-5, 7-6(8).

While the first round of singles wrapped up, doubles play began and junior Anthony Stefani (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and sophomore Mike Brown (Portage, Mich.) did not disappoint as the duo defeated Indiana's Tom Bagnato and David Bubenicek, 8-4. Marshall and Simonton teamed up as well for an 8-3 trouncing of Illinois-Chicago's Yevgen Ryeznik and Karol Zarucki.

Formanczyk and Mitchell entered the mix late in the afternoon in a close match with Western Michigan's Tommy Dennis and Jeff French. Although the Spartan tandem lost six break points at 7-7, State controlled the eventual tiebreaker and eased into the second round, 9-8(4). Formanczyk's shot that wrapped around the net and into the back corner at 3-1 and Mitchell's final two service points helped seal the outcome.

Even though the Brown/Stefani and Formanczyk/Mitchell teams lost in the second round, the duo of Marshall and Simonton cruised to an 8-1 victory over Weber and Brandon Blankenbaker of Eastern Illinois to reach third round.

Sunday's action includes second and third rounds of the singles draw and the third round of doubles competition. Simonton and Marshall will be the first Spartans on the court when they begin their respective matches at 9 a.m. All matches will be played at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. Schedule of play and brackets can be found on www.msuspartans.com.

Saturday's Results From The ITA Midwest RegionalMain Draw SinglesFirst Round (Round of 64)Eric Simonton (MSU) def. Carey Rubin (MICH) 6-2, 6-3Cameron Marshall (MSU) def. Matt Laramore (BSU) 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-4#7 seed Andrew Formanczyk (MSU) def. Ryan Recht (IND) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4Chris Mitchell (MSU) def. C.J. Weber (EIU) 7-5, 7-6(8)

DoublesFirst Round (Round of 64)Mike Brown/Anthony Stefani (MSU) def. Tom Bagnato/David Bubenicek (IND) 8-4Cameron Marshall/Eric Simonton (MSU) def. Yevgen Ryeznik/Karol Zarucki (UIC) 8-3Alex Conti/Scott Green (WIS) def. Michael Flowers/Joseph McWilliams (MSU) 8-6Andrew Formanczyk/Chris Mitchell (MSU) def. Tommy Dennis/Jeff French (WMU) 9-8(4)

Second Round (Round of 32)Scott Green/Ross Wilson (OSU) def. Mike Brown/Anthony Stefani (MSU) 8-3Luis Haddock/Ryan Keckley (ND) def. Andrew Formanczyk/Chris Mitchell (MSU) 9-7Cameron Marshall/Eric Simonton (MSU) def. Brandon Blankenbaker/C.J. Weber (EIU) 8-1

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Players Mentioned

Mike Brown