Michigan State University
Toledo
Michigan State Easily Defeats Toledo And Dayton
1/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 26, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - With the sports world buzzing from Jennifer Capriati's come-from-behind victory at the Australian Open, MSU provided the same excitement Saturday in its 7-0 defeat of Toledo.
Sophomore Chris Mitchell (Ann Arbor, Mich.), who lost the first set to Toledo's Dipesh Rao, 7-6(5), was down 6-3 in the second set tie-breaker, but held off three match points to win the set 7-6(6). With a lot of momentum under his belt, Mitchell cruised in the third, losing only two games to clinch the match. Sophomore Eric Simonton (Annandale, N.J.) and freshman Andrew Formanczyk (Rochester Hills, Mich.) also needed three sets to help the Spartans beat the Rockets, 7-0.
"Down 6-3 (in the tie-breaker), I was able to put pressure on my opponent's serve," said Mitchell, whose overall singles record now stands at 8-7. "When he double-faulted to lose one match point, I never looked back."
The afternoon match with Dayton was to have begun at 4 p.m., but the Flyers arrived an hour late as they competed in the morning in Toledo, Ohio, against Bowling Green. The delay did not seem to affect State as it quickly grabbed the doubles point by winning two of three matches. Sophomore Mike Hodge outlasted Rob Altenau at one singles, 7-6(3), 6-4, in a long two-setter for the singles sweep and a 7-0 team victory.
"We have certainly gotten out to a good start," said head coach Gene Orlando. "The second match with Dayton I was a little nervous with our lineup, but if we want to be a good team, the players have to step up and win in the high positions. This will give them confidence against stronger teams."
But the match of the day went to Mitchell's incredible comeback.
"I give (Mitchell) a lot of credit," explained Orlando. "He stayed composed and was able to outlast his opponent. He set himself up for future success by playing controlled today.
MSU (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) will have a week to prepare to host No. 75 Ball State Saturday (Feb. 2) and No. 47 Tulsa Sunday (Feb. 3). Both matches are set to begin at noon.
"We have to keep playing aggressive and keep doing the things we've done," emphasized Orlando. "Two weeks into the season, everyone has played so we all know what needs work."
Saturday's Results Against ToledoDoublesNo. 1 McGuire/Simonton (MSU) def. Baghdati/Al Nabhani (UT) 8-3No. 2 Formanczyk/Mitchell (MSU) def. Rao/Wojtkowski (UT) 8-4No. 3 Hourani/Topalo (MSU) def. Llewellyn/Tran (UT) 8-3
SinglesNo. 1 Chris Mitchell (MSU) def. Dipesh Rao (UT) 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-2No. 2 Andrew Formanczyk (MSU) def. Pete Baghdati (UT) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2No. 3 Goran Topalo (MSU) def. Kahlid Al Nabhani (UT) 6-1, 6-2No. 4 Eric Simonton (MSU) def. Todd Wojtkowski (UT) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4No. 5 Cameron Marshall (MSU) def. Tony Tran (UT) 6-3, 6-2No. 6 Jimmy McGuire (MSU) def. Mirsad Begic (UT) 6-1, 6-4Michigan State defeats Toledo 7-0
Saturday's Results Against DaytonDoublesNo. 1 Hourani/Topalo (MSU) def. Nykiel/Christiansson (UD) 8-4No. 2 Gebhart/Wortman (UD) def. Hodge/Jonckheere (MSU) 8-6No. 3 Marshall/Stefani (MSU) def. Altenau/Khoury (UD) 8-2
SinglesNo. 1 Mike Hodge (MSU) def. Rob Altenau (UD) 7-6(3), 6-4No. 2 Adam Hourani (MSU) def. Carl Christiansson (UD) 6-2, 6-1No. 3 Mike Jonckheere (MSU) def. D.J. Gebhart (UD) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2No. 4 Cameron Marshall (MSU) def. Brad Nykiel (UD) 6-1, 6-1No. 5 Jimmy McGuire (MSU) def. Jonathan Khoury (UD) 6-0, 6-1No. 6 Anthony Stefani (MSU) def. Ben Kathary (UD) 6-3, 6-2Michigan State defeats Dayton 7-0
