Post-Match Quotes
1/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Michigan State Men's Tennis Head Coach Gene Orlando
Thoughts on the wins against Butler and Wright State...
Well it's always great to start off the season with two wins. I thought it was a good week of practice and I saw some good things in match play. We were challenged and won some close matches today, and it's important to win those early on. We still need to get sharper; we know our best tennis is still ahead of us. We are just taking it one day at a time and trying to get better. We are looking forward to next week when we have DePaul and Cleveland State. DePaul beat us last year, so we are looking for a little revenge.
On importance of getting off to a good start...
It's always important to get off to a good start if you want to have a good season, and I think we did that today. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us. We have the talent and the leadership to have a great season with the seniors Nick Rinks and Adam Monich, they've put up some great results for us in past years. We also have a strong junior class with Alex Forger, Scott Rasmussen, and John Allare. It was a good start today, everyone got to play, and I think we learned a lot.
On who to look for at doubles, besides No. 1 Nick Rinks and Adam Monich...
Well Forger and Allare played a lot of doubles for us last year, and played well today. They got down early, but were able to get themselves back in the match and ended up winning it, which is big for early in the season. I think doubles is going to be our strength. We are still looking to fill our No. 3 doubles team. We had a injury this fall, so I think he will help us a lot when he comes back.
On who will step up in singles this season...
Alex Forger was No. 2 for us last year, and he finished with an even record in the Big Ten. He will play No. 2 again for us, and we expect him to have some more wins. John Allare is in his first year at No. 3. Adam Monich is a senior, and he will be playing the fourth spot for us. He had a pretty big injury last season and he's just coming back from that. That's going to be our top four guys and we are still looking to find consistency in our five and six positions, but I do feel like we have some quality players in every position and that's what it takes to be successful, to be able to win at every position.
On what Michigan State needs to compete in the Big Ten...
I think we need to just play within ourselves. The Big Ten is very good and some of our non-conference opponents are very good. It's playing our game and being aggressive at the right time. If we can keep the matches close, we will be in a position. We've been there so often, and we've been able to have some big wins. I think the more experience you have in a certain conference the more your guys know what to expect and what it takes to win in certain situations.
Players Mentioned
