Michigan State University
UC-Irvine
Men's Tennis Rolls Past UC-Irvine, 5-2
3/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 9, 2004
IRVINE, Calif. - Though Michigan State's men's tennis team sits at No. 53 in the nation, UC-Irvine, which came into Tuesday's (March 9) match unranked, held a huge advantage as it was the first outdoor contest of the year for State. However, the Spartans (12-3 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) were more than prepared as they defeated the Anteaters (5-6 overall, 1-1 Big West), 5-2.
"The guys really stepped up today," said head coach Gene Orlando. "They handled the adversity with the heat and a tough UC-Irvine team. We look forward now to the opportunity to play Pepperdine tomorrow."
Doubles play looked bleak early on for the Spartans as UCI held leads in each match. Gradually, State managed to pick up a couple of breaks and grab momentum. At No. 2, senior Chris Mitchell (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and junior Andrew Formanczyk (Rochester Hills, Mich.) earned two service breaks over Jon Endrikat and Wkwesi Williams towards the end of their match and Formanczyk put it away with a perfect volley for the 8-5 win. Junior Anthony Stefani (Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.) and sophomore Mike Brown (Portage, Mich.) then wrapped up the doubles point at No. 3 with an 8-3 victory over Zoran Korac and Peter Surapol. Senior Eric Simonton (Annadale, N.J.) and junior Cameron Marshall (Louisville, Ky.) almost got the sweep after trailing 6-3 at No. 1 against Brian Morton and Ryusuke Kashiwabara and eventually reaching a tiebreaker. Unfortunately, the MSU duo could not get the win, falling 9-8(4).
With the opening point in hand, Michigan State grabbed four straight singles points for a 5-0 lead as well as securing the overall victory. Mitchell was the first Spartan to complete his match, using an ace on his first match point at No. 3 to defeat Morton, 6-4, 6-4. Meanwhile, Formanczyk, who slid way up to No. 63 in the ITA singles rankings Tuesday, held a 6-3 advantage in a first-set tiebreaker with Endrikat at No. 1. After dropping his first three set points, Formanczyk had to save a set point against him with Endrikat serving at 8-7 before finally winning the set 7-6(9). He went on to pick up the second set victory, 6-3, for a 3-0 State lead.
Seconds later, freshman Joseph McWilliams (Aurora, Ill.) finished off Renouk Wijemanne at No. 5, 7-5, 6-2, for the decisive point.
"I felt really comfortable out there," said McWilliams. "The weather wasn't as bad as it was the first couple days of practice. I think we as a team were the most intense we have been in a while. We were pretty loud and it made it us very relaxed. Today was a stepping stone for tomorrow's match and everyone will be more confident and intense as we were today."
Simonton battled Kashiwabara at No. 5 in a tough two-set contest and managed a 6-4, 6-2 victory for State's final point. At No. 2, Marshall played as close a two-set match as anyone can play but came up on the short end against Korac, falling 7-6(5), 7-6 (9). Freshman Michael Flowers (Memphis, Tenn.) also fell just short of a win as Surapol took the No. 6 match, 4-6, 7-5, 1-0(10-6).
MSU travels to another scenic setting Wednesday (March 10) as it visits Malibu, Calif., and No. 20 Pepperdine at 1 p.m. PST.
Tuesday's Results Against UC-IrvineDoublesNo. 1 Kashiwabara/Morton (UCI) def. Marshall/Simonton (MSU) 9-8(4)No. 2 Formanczyk/Mitchell (MSU) def. Endrikat/Williams (UCI) 8-5No. 3 Brown/Stefani (MSU) def. Korac/Surapol (UCI) 8-3SinglesNo. 1 #63 Andrew Formanczyk (MSU) def. Jon Endrikat (UCI) 7-6(9), 6-3No. 2 Zoran Korac (UCI) def. Cameron Marshall (MSU) 7-6(5), 7-6(9)No. 3 Chris Mitchell (MSU) def. Brian Morton (UCI) 6-4, 6-4No. 4 Eric Simonton (MSU) def. Ryusuke Kashiwabara (UCI) 6-4, 6-4No. 5 Joseph McWilliams (MSU) def. Renouk Wijemanne (UCI) 7-5, 6-2No. 6 Peter Surapol (UCI) def. Michael Flowers (MSU) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0(10-6)No. 53 Michigan State defeats UC-Irvine, 5-2Records: MSU 12-3 overall, 0-0 Big Ten UCI 5-6 overall, 1-1 Big WestOrder of Finish: Doubles 2, 3, 1 Singles: 3, 1, 5, 4, 2, 6Length of Match: 3:10Weather: 81 Degrees and Sunny
