Michigan State University
Butler
Michigan State Dominates Competition In First Spring Season Match
1/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 12, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis team began its spring season in dominating fashion downing Butler, 7-0, and Wright State, 6-1, Saturday at MSU Indoor Tennis Facility in East Lansing. MSU stayed undefeated against both teams and now holds all-time records of 4-0 against Butler and 8-0 versus Wright State. No. 1 singles player Nick Rinks - ranked No. 32 in the nation - led the way for the Spartans, routing Butler's Ben Raynauld, 6-0, 6-2, and Wright State's Tony Teufel,6-2, 6-4.
In doubles action against Butler, MSU swept the Bulldogs, winning the best-of-three series and giving the Spartans the first point of the match. No. 1 doubles Nick Rinks and Adam Monich defeated Eric Breitenbach and Chris Herron, 8-5, while No. 2 John Allare and Alex Forger beat Ben Raynauld and Bryce Warren, 8-4. In the third doubles spot, Butler's Sam Brown and Brandon Bayliss brought MSU to a tiebreak, but the Spartans' Tyler Sauerbrey and Billy Gardner held on to the win, defeating the Butler duo, 8-7 (7-5).
In other singles action, MSU's No. 3 John Allare defeated Bryce Warren, 6-4, 6-0, while No. 5 Scott Rasmussen came back from a second set loss to defeat Brandon Bayliss, 6-1, 3-6 (10-7). In the longest singles contest of the match, No. 2 Alex Forger jumped out to a one set lead, but found himself tied at the end of the second. Forger battled back and won the tiebreaker 11-9, defeating Chris Herron, 7-5, 6-7 (11-9).
"Rasmussen and Forger really battled today, and I was proud of those guys for hanging in there and winning their tiebreakers," said head coach Gene Orlando. "It really shows the amount of character that we have on this team."
In the second match of the day, MSU again jumped out to an early lead, taking two out of the first three doubles matches versus Wright State. At No. 1 doubles MSU's Adam Monich and Alex Forger took down Nick Camilleri and Tony Teufel, 8-2, while Billy Gardner and Scott Rasmussen defeated Butler's Philip Rehg and Brett Stewart, 8-1, giving Michigan State the first point of the match.
At No. 3 singles, Scott Rasmussen routed Wright State's Philip Rehg, 6-1, 6-2, while No. 6 Brendan Kinkopf shutout Brett Stewart, 6-0, 6-0. In the final match of the evening, Wright State's Landon Neuman went deep into each set, but was unable to overcome Michigan State's Jason Norville as he prevailed 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4 singles.
"It was exactly what I'd hoped for today," Orlando said. "To come out with two wins this early in the season is a good start for us. We aren't where we want to be yet, but it's early in the season, and we are working towards that goal."
Men's tennis returns to action next weekend as it plays host to DePaul at 2 p.m. and Cleveland State at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility in East Lansing.
Michigan State vs. Butler
Singles
1. Nick Rinks (MSU) d. Ben Raynauld (Butler), 6-0, 6-2
2. Alex Forger (MSU) d. Chris Herron (Butler), 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), tiebreaker (11-9)
3. John Allare (MSU) d. Bryce Warren (Butler), 6-4, 6-0
4. Adam Monich (MSU) d. Sam Brown (Butler), 6-1, 6-3
5. Scott Rasmussen (MSU) d. Brandon Bayliss (Butler), 6-0,6-2
6. Tyler Sauerbrey (MSU) d. Ben Shafer (Butler), 6-0, 6-2
Doubles
1. Nick Rinks/Adam Monich (MSU) d. Eric Breitenbach/Chris Herron (Butler), 8-5
2. John Allare/Alex Forger (MSU) d. Ben Raynauld/Bryce Warren (Butler), 8-4
3. Tyler Sauerbrey/Billy Gardner (MSU) d. Brandon Bayliss/Sam Brown (Butler), 8-7 (7-5)
Michigan State vs. Wright State
Singles
1. Nick Rinks (MSU) d. Tony Teufel (WSU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Nick Camillari d. John Allare (MSU), 4-6, 6-1, tiebreaker (10-1)
3. Scott Rasmussen (MSU) d. Philip Rehg (WSU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Jason Norville (MSU) d. Landon Neuman (WSU), 6-4, 6-4
5. Clark Richardson (MSU) d. Jan Alafriz (WSU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Brendan Kinkopf (MSU) d. Brett Stewart (WSU), 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1. Adam Monich/Alex Forger (MSU) d. Nick Camilleri/Landon Neuman (WSU), 8-2
2. Tony Teufel/Jan Alafriz d. Clark Richardson/Tyler Sauerbrey (MSU), 8-4
3. Billy Gardner/Scott Rasmussen (MSU) d. Philip Rehg/Brett Stewart (WSU), 8-1
Players Mentioned
