Sunday, March 21
Iowa City, IA
12 P.M. ET
Michigan State University
4
at
3
Iowa
Spartans Defeat No. 48 Iowa, 4-3
3/21/2021 5:05:00 PM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State men's tennis team finished off a road sweep on the weekend, defeating No. 48 Iowa on Sunday afternoon at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City, 4-3. The Spartans began the road trip with a 5-2 victory over Nebraska on Friday and are now 4-4 in Big Ten play.
"I'm really proud of the guys for bouncing back after a couple of tough losses last weekend," said MSU men's tennis head coach Gene Orlando. "They really responded well in practice this week and it showed in the matches. They accepted the challenge of going on the road, and we were able to carry the momentum from Friday's win at Nebraska with us today at Iowa. It was great to win some third-set matches by Carson (Gates) and Nick (Williams) to close it out."
MSU won the doubles point for the third consecutive match to take a 1-0 lead into singles. Kazuki Matsuno and Nick Williams continued their hot streak with a 6-4 win over the No. 17 doubles tandem in the nation in Hawkeye duo Oliver Okonkwo and Will Davis. It marked the second ranked win for Matsuno and Williams in just over a week, as they also took down No. 37 James Trotter and James Boulais of Ohio State last Friday. Reed Crocker and Drew Keene clinched the doubles point for the Spartans with a 7-5 victory over Kareem Allaf and Nikita Snezhko in the No. 2 spot.
Keene extended MSU's lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles, but Iowa (4-7, 4-5 Big Ten) tied it with victories at No. 1 and No. 4 singles.
Carson Gates stopped the Hawkeye momentum with a comeback win at No. 2 singles over Okonkwo to give MSU a 3-2 lead. After losing the first set 6-3, Gates rallied for a 6-3 win in the second and sealed it with a 6-4 edge in the third and decisive set.
Williams clinched the dual for the Spartans on the third court, topping Will Davies, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
Iowa added a win at No. 6 singles to make the final 4-3 in favor of the Spartans.
The Spartans (4-6, 4-4 Big Ten) return to the road next weekend to take on Northwestern on Friday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. ET and No. 9 Illinois on Sunday, March 28 at 1 p.m. ET.
"I'm really proud of the guys for bouncing back after a couple of tough losses last weekend," said MSU men's tennis head coach Gene Orlando. "They really responded well in practice this week and it showed in the matches. They accepted the challenge of going on the road, and we were able to carry the momentum from Friday's win at Nebraska with us today at Iowa. It was great to win some third-set matches by Carson (Gates) and Nick (Williams) to close it out."
MSU won the doubles point for the third consecutive match to take a 1-0 lead into singles. Kazuki Matsuno and Nick Williams continued their hot streak with a 6-4 win over the No. 17 doubles tandem in the nation in Hawkeye duo Oliver Okonkwo and Will Davis. It marked the second ranked win for Matsuno and Williams in just over a week, as they also took down No. 37 James Trotter and James Boulais of Ohio State last Friday. Reed Crocker and Drew Keene clinched the doubles point for the Spartans with a 7-5 victory over Kareem Allaf and Nikita Snezhko in the No. 2 spot.
Keene extended MSU's lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 singles, but Iowa (4-7, 4-5 Big Ten) tied it with victories at No. 1 and No. 4 singles.
Carson Gates stopped the Hawkeye momentum with a comeback win at No. 2 singles over Okonkwo to give MSU a 3-2 lead. After losing the first set 6-3, Gates rallied for a 6-3 win in the second and sealed it with a 6-4 edge in the third and decisive set.
Williams clinched the dual for the Spartans on the third court, topping Will Davies, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
Iowa added a win at No. 6 singles to make the final 4-3 in favor of the Spartans.
The Spartans (4-6, 4-4 Big Ten) return to the road next weekend to take on Northwestern on Friday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. ET and No. 9 Illinois on Sunday, March 28 at 1 p.m. ET.
Another ranked road win for the Spartans! Don't mind us... we're just working 🤫😏📈 #MentalMonsters #TheGoodLife🤙 #V4MSU pic.twitter.com/ZEY2VidLXv— Michigan State Men's Tennis (@MSU_Tennis) March 21, 2021
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
51
Kareem Allaf / 0 [UI]
76
#2 Singles Match
123
366
Oliver Okonkwo / 0 [UI]
634
#3 Singles Match
123
616
Will Davies / 0 [UI]
264
#4 Singles Match
12
50
Joe Tyler / 0 [UI]
76
#5 Singles Match
12
66
Peter Alam / 0 [UI]
23
#6 Singles Match
123
364
Jason Kerst / 0 [UI]
646
Order of Finish:
5,1,4,2,3,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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