Men's Tennis Falls Short In Two Doubles Flights

Sept. 29, 2002

MUNCIE, Ind. - After a promising start in the Ball State Invitational, the Michigan State men's tennis team could not bring home a doubles flight championship Sunday, losing in the semifinals of the A division and the finals of the C division. For the second straight year, however, a Spartan managed to sweep the B singles consolation bracket.

Hoping to build on Friday and Saturday's victories, seniors Adam Hourani (Lansing, Mich.) and Jimmy McGuire (Columbus, Ohio) kept their semifinal match close with Northern Illinois' Aaron Forsberg and Raymond van Wasbeek, but fell 8-5.

MSU was able to gain momentum in the doubles C flight with sophomore Anthony Stefani (Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.) and freshman Mike Brown (Portage, Mich.) advancing to the finals. After defeating a combination of Illinois State's Marek Blaskovic and Northern Illinois' Ryan Schnak in the semifinals, 8-4, the Spartan duo fell in a heartbreaker to Drake's Matt McClure and Zlatco Letica, 9-7.

Revenge was on Hourani's mind in singles action when he went up against Forsberg in the B consolation finals. Even though Forsberg gave the co-captain a dangerous match, Hourani escaped with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory.

Junior Chris Mitchell (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and sophomore Andrew Formanczyk (Rochester Hills, Mich.) will travel to the ITA All-American tournament in Nashville, Tenn., where they will open prequalifying singles play Friday, October 4. The next full team tournament for the Spartans will be at the Minnesota Invitational, October 11-13.

Results from Sunday, September 29, 2002Singles B Consolation FinalsAdam Hourani (MSU) def. Aaron Forsberg (Ill. St.) 6-3, 7-6(4)
Doubles A Main Draw SemifinalsForsberg-van Wasbeek (NIU) def. Hourani-McGuire (MSU) 8-5
Doubles C Main Draw SemifinalsBrown-Stefani (MSU) def. Blaskovic (Ill. St.)-Schnack (NIU) 8-4
Doubles C Main Draw FinalsLetica-McClure (Drake) def. Brown-Stefani (MSU) 9-7

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Players Mentioned

Mike Brown