Big Ten Indoor Championships Coming To East Lansing
11/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Nov. 8, 2001
EAST LANSING, MICH - After an all-around successful regional tournament, the Indoor Tennis Facility will again host another eventful championship in the Big Ten Indoors Saturday. Michigan State will have a conference best seven players competing in a double-elimination bracket.
The Spartan's will look for yet another surprise athlete to carry them far into the deeper rounds. Freshman Cameron Marshall (Louisville, Ky) led MSU at the Ball State Invitational while he and junior Goran Topalo (Prague, Czech Republic) and freshman Andrew Formanczyk (Rochester Hills, Mich.) fared well at Notre Dame. During the ITA Region IV Championships, Formanczyk stepped up his game even more by advancing to the third round and Topalo and sophomore Chris Mitchell (Ann Arbor, Mich) won their first match before bowing out in the second round.
Mitchell earned top Spartan honors by receiving the #15 seed. He played in one of the longest matches of the regional tournament against Purdue's Andrew Wakefield. Lasting approximately three hours, Mitchell fell just short with each of three sets going into a tie-breaker. His singles record for the season is 4-5, and he will play Purdue's Carl McCafferty in the first round
The Big Ten Indoors will get underway at 8 a.m. Saturday with opening round action and conclude Monday. Admission is free each day of competition and the tennis facility is located on Mt. Hope Road.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Differing from the ITA Regional Championships, the Big Ten Indoors will not have a doubles round. It will instead include a 64 player singles bracket with a consolation round and a extra five-round draw for players that did not make the main draw.
ONE, TWO, THREE...: A total of seven Spartans will take the court on Saturday. Formanczyk, Marshall, Mitchell, Topalo, juniors Adam Hourani (Lansing, Mich) and Jimmy McGuire (Columbus, Ohio) and sophomore Mike Hodge (Grand Rapids, Mich) will represent MSU in the main draw. Sophomores Mike Jonckheere (London, Ont) and Josh Efros (West Bloomfield, Mich) and freshman Anthony Stefani (Grosse Point Shores, Mich) will participate in the extra draw.
TOP PERFORMERS: Although a couple teams will be sending their top players to the ITA Nationals this weekend in Texas, the top seeds of the tournament will be as tough as ever. Minnesota's Thomas Haug leads the way with the first seed while Indiana's Milan Rakvica, Michigan's Henry Beam, Northwestern's Jackie Jenkins and Illinois's Brian Wilson round out the top five.
MEDIA AND SID NOTES: Results of every match will be posted on the official website of Spartan athletics, www.msuspartans.com and faxed to each Big Ten team's respected sports information office. Programs and updated draws will be available each day of the tournament at the tennis facility. If you would like a copy of the program or results faxed to a different location, please contact the Michigan State sports information office with your request.