Michigan State University Athletics
Men's Tennis Hosts Final Home Matches vs. Iowa, Illinois
4/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 15, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis team continues its conference schedule this weekend as it plays host to Iowa on Saturday, April 16 and Illinois on Sunday, April 17. Both contests are scheduled to begin at noon at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Scouting the Spartans
The Spartans enter the weekend with a 15-7 record, ranking of No. 57 in the ITA polls. This week marks the 10th consecutive week the Green and White have been ranked. MSU earned its first conference victory last weekend against Penn State, taking down the Nittany Lions in a close fought 4-3 match. The Big Ten has proven to be one of the most challenging conferences, with 10 of its 11 teams ranked in the ITA top 75.
Freshman Aaron Pfister has continued his impressive run in singles play, posting an 18-1 record throughout the lineup, with his only loss coming to Balazs Novak of then No. 3 Ohio State. 17 of Pfister's 18 victories have come in straight sets. Sophomore Denis Bogatov has paced the Spartans in the No. 1 slot with a 10-8 record in dual matches. Juniors Ron Hulewicz and Austin Brooks have represented the Spartans in the No. 2 and 3 positions, posting a combined 20 wins in dual match singles competition.
In doubles play, senior John Stratton has recorded 12 wins at the No. 1 position, with three of them coming against Big Ten opponents. Stratton has paired with fellow senior Jason Norville for eight of those victories, five of which have come against ranked foes.
Senior Sendoff
The Spartans will be celebrating senior day against the Fighting Illini on April 11, as Jason Norville, Clark Richardson and John Stratton will compete in their final home matches as Spartans. MSU has enjoyed success from each of the 2011 seniors. Stratton has helped the Spartans in both singles and doubles play this season, posting an 18-11 record in singles and a 23-12 doubles record. For his career, Stratton has a combined 107 victories, with 57 in doubles play and the remaining 50 in singles. Norville has paired with Stratton in doubles for the majority of this season, where they have earned eight victories in the No. 1 slot. Norville has an overall record of 60-57 in doubles matches over the past five years, and has earned 46 victories in singles play. Clark Richardson has represented the Spartans in every doubles position and in positions two through six in singles play throughout his career. He has combined for 92 victories during his career, with 43 in singles and 49 in doubles competition.
Iowa Scouting
The University of Iowa begins weekend play ranked No. 60 in the ITA polls, with an 8-8 record and currently sits at seventh in the Big Ten rankings with a 2-4 conference mark. The Hawkeyes are coming off two tough losses, as they fell to No. 23 Indiana, 7-0, and No. 72 Northwestern, 5-2, last week. Junior Marc Bruche has represented the Hawkeyes in the No. 1 position in every dual match, posting a 9-7 mark, as well as an 11-5 record in the No. 1 doubles spot with partner Will Vasos.
Illinois Scouting
Illinois enters this weekends competition ranked 17th in the ITA polls, with a record of 12-8. All of the Fighting Illini's losses have come against ranked opponents, including five in the top 10, while nine of their victories have been against ranked teams. They are currently ranked fourth in the Big Ten, posting a 4-2 record in the conference. Junior Dennis Nevolo has represented the Illini at the No. 1 singles spot, going 8-4, with four of his victories coming against ranked individuals.
Academic Excellence
The MSU men's tennis team was recently recognized at the SASS Gala held on April 11, rewarding student-athletes on their academic and athletic achievement. The Spartan tennis team received the Athletic Director's Award, which is given to the male and female team with the highest cumulative team grade-point-average after the fall semester. The men's tennis program posted a 3.439 cumulative team GPA and earned the award for a record seventh time, and their fourth in a row. Senior Clark Richardson received the Scholar-Athlete Award, which is given to the member of each team with the highest GPA.
Next Up
The Spartans conclude the regular season next weekend before beginning play at the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis., when they travel to face the Wildcats of Northwestern on Friday, April 22 at 7 p.m. ET.
Players Mentioned
