Saturday, March 5
East Lansing, MI
10 AM
Michigan State University
4
vs
3
Marquette
Michigan State Earns Victories Over Marquette and Butler in Doubleheader Sweep
3/5/2022 7:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State men's tennis team improved to 10-3 on the season after picking up two wins on Saturday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility over Marquette, 4-3, and Butler, 6-1.
"We played two different lineups today which showed the depth of the program," said MSU men's tennis head coach Gene Orlando. "The guys found a way to win against Marquette and that was exciting. And then we came back and played Butler – a team that beat Indiana earlier in the season – and we knew they were a very good team.
"We took it to (Butler) the first hour, and then the second hour they found a little more fight and made it a tough match. They pushed us to four three-setters, and even though we were up 3-0, we really had to work to win this last match. Kudos to Luke Baylis for closing it out. I'm glad we won three of those four three-setters.
"I like the fight, I like how the guys are competing and finding ways to win. Now we're looking forward to spring break and our trip to Arizona State."
The Spartans opened the day by taking the doubles point against the Golden Eagles when they earned victories on the No. 1 and 2 courts. Kazuki Matsuno and Jarreau Campbell won on the top court with a 6-4 victory over Fran San Andres and Rami Scheetz. Shortly after, Josh Mukherjee and Graydon Lair won in an extra-point battle against Will Tennison and Shaddy Khalafallah, 7-5.
The first point of singles play also went in MSU's favor. At court six, Campbell earned another win with a 6-3, 6-2 final over Elijah Zifferblatt of Marquette (2-9).
Although Nick Williams fell at No. 2 singles, Michigan State won the next two matches to increase its lead to 4-1. At No. 4 singles, freshman Josh Portnoy won in straight sets against Marquette's Jan Jauch, 6-4, 6-3, to earn his first win on the fourth court and improve to 11-8 overall in singles action. Anthony Pero played out three sets to win against Scheetz. After falling 4-6 in his first set, Pero blanked his opponent 6-0 in the second and won 6-1 in the tiebreak set to earn the win.
The final two matches were lengthy tiebreaker battles on courts one and five. Reed Crocker won 6-2 in his first set, but fell 7-6 and 11-9 in the 10-point tiebreaker to Marquette's Ian Brady. In a similar fashion, Mukherjee fell 6-3, 7-6 with a 10-7 tiebreaker at No. 1 singles to Stefan Dragovic to make the final 4-3 in favor of MSU.
In the nightcap against Butler, the Spartans again claimed the doubles point. Carson Gates and Max Sheldon made quick work against Michael Dickson and Drew Michael with a 6-0 victory on the second court, while Williams and Jack Winkler won 6-2 over Thomas Brennan and Alvaro Huete Vadillo at No. 1.
Sheldon picked right up where he left off in doubles with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 takedown of Michael Karr on the fourth court. Matsuno extended MSU's lead to 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles over Michael.
Luke Baylis clinched the dual for the Spartans against the Bulldogs (4-6) with a three-set victory on the fifth court, beating Borja Miralles, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.
The Spartans secured the next two points after winning a pair of three-set matches on courts one and two. At No. 1, Jack Winkler outlasted Thomas Brennan, 6-1, 6-7, 6-4, while Lair topped Dickson, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5.
Butler took the last point with a win at No. 3 singles to make the final 6-1 Spartans.
Michigan State will head to Tempe, Arizona, for its spring break trip to compete in the Arizona State Invitational on March 11-13.
"We played two different lineups today which showed the depth of the program," said MSU men's tennis head coach Gene Orlando. "The guys found a way to win against Marquette and that was exciting. And then we came back and played Butler – a team that beat Indiana earlier in the season – and we knew they were a very good team.
"We took it to (Butler) the first hour, and then the second hour they found a little more fight and made it a tough match. They pushed us to four three-setters, and even though we were up 3-0, we really had to work to win this last match. Kudos to Luke Baylis for closing it out. I'm glad we won three of those four three-setters.
"I like the fight, I like how the guys are competing and finding ways to win. Now we're looking forward to spring break and our trip to Arizona State."
The Spartans opened the day by taking the doubles point against the Golden Eagles when they earned victories on the No. 1 and 2 courts. Kazuki Matsuno and Jarreau Campbell won on the top court with a 6-4 victory over Fran San Andres and Rami Scheetz. Shortly after, Josh Mukherjee and Graydon Lair won in an extra-point battle against Will Tennison and Shaddy Khalafallah, 7-5.
The first point of singles play also went in MSU's favor. At court six, Campbell earned another win with a 6-3, 6-2 final over Elijah Zifferblatt of Marquette (2-9).
Although Nick Williams fell at No. 2 singles, Michigan State won the next two matches to increase its lead to 4-1. At No. 4 singles, freshman Josh Portnoy won in straight sets against Marquette's Jan Jauch, 6-4, 6-3, to earn his first win on the fourth court and improve to 11-8 overall in singles action. Anthony Pero played out three sets to win against Scheetz. After falling 4-6 in his first set, Pero blanked his opponent 6-0 in the second and won 6-1 in the tiebreak set to earn the win.
The final two matches were lengthy tiebreaker battles on courts one and five. Reed Crocker won 6-2 in his first set, but fell 7-6 and 11-9 in the 10-point tiebreaker to Marquette's Ian Brady. In a similar fashion, Mukherjee fell 6-3, 7-6 with a 10-7 tiebreaker at No. 1 singles to Stefan Dragovic to make the final 4-3 in favor of MSU.
In the nightcap against Butler, the Spartans again claimed the doubles point. Carson Gates and Max Sheldon made quick work against Michael Dickson and Drew Michael with a 6-0 victory on the second court, while Williams and Jack Winkler won 6-2 over Thomas Brennan and Alvaro Huete Vadillo at No. 1.
Sheldon picked right up where he left off in doubles with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 takedown of Michael Karr on the fourth court. Matsuno extended MSU's lead to 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles over Michael.
Luke Baylis clinched the dual for the Spartans against the Bulldogs (4-6) with a three-set victory on the fifth court, beating Borja Miralles, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.
The Spartans secured the next two points after winning a pair of three-set matches on courts one and two. At No. 1, Jack Winkler outlasted Thomas Brennan, 6-1, 6-7, 6-4, while Lair topped Dickson, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5.
Butler took the last point with a win at No. 3 singles to make the final 6-1 Spartans.
Michigan State will head to Tempe, Arizona, for its spring break trip to compete in the Arizona State Invitational on March 11-13.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Stefan Dragovic / 0 [MU]
6710
367
#2 Singles Match
12
Fran San Andres / 0 [MU]
66
41
#3 Singles Match
123
Rami Scheetz / 0 [MU]
601
466
#4 Singles Match
12
Jan Jauch / 0 [MU]
43
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Ian Brady / 0 [MU]
2711
669
#6 Singles Match
12
Elijah Zifferblatt / 0 [MU]
32
66
Order of Finish:
6,2,4,3,5,1
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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