Michigan State University
Northern Illinois
Men's Tennis Opens Season With A Doubleheader Sweep
1/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 15, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 55 Michigan State men's tennis swept its fifth straight season opening doubleheader Saturday, Jan. 15, as it defeated Northern Illinois, 6-1, and Wright State, 6-1, at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. Seniors Andrew Formanczyk and Cameron Marshall and junior Mike Brown all went 4-0 to the lead the way for the Spartans.
MSU (2-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) dominated the top two doubles contests against Northern Illinois (0-1, 0-0 MAC) to secure the first point of the morning. At No. 1, Formanczyk and Marshall locked up three service breaks en route to an 8-2 victory over Willy Gali and Alex Friesen. While the Huskies managed to win at No. 3, senior Anthony Stefani and Brown cruised past Erick Martinez and Mark Tate at No. 2, 8-3, giving the Spartans a 1-0 overall lead.
In singles action, Marshall had no trouble with Martinez at No. 2, earning a 6-3, 6-1 win to give State a 2-0 advantage. Formanczyk was on serve at No. 1 when he broke Gali's serve to capture the first set and went on to defeat Gali, 6-4, 6-4. Up 3-0, MSU's Bryan Karazia, a freshman playing in his first collegiate singles match, knocked off Diego Zegarra-Ballon at No. 6, 7-5, 6-4, enabling the Spartans to achieve their fourth and decisive point. Sophomore Joseph McWilliams helped give MSU a cushion, defeating Tate at No. 3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, while Brown also contributed with a grueling win at No. 4, a 6-2, 6-7(7), 7-6(3) marathon over Friesen. Unfortunately, State could not complete the sweep as Stefani fell to Adam Ford at No. 5, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
"I liked how we got a good start," said head coach Gene Orlando. "I knew it would be a challenge with some players out of the lineup, but we were able to take control of doubles early. We dropped one match but were able to maintain it. And then we got off to a great start in singles. We did let them back in it in a few matches to make it interesting, however."
Wright State (1-2, 0-0 Horizon) ventured into East Lansing a few hours later and the Green and White got off to a quick start by sweeping the doubles matches. Formanczyk, Marshall, McWilliams, Brown and Stefani then capped off the afternoon with singles victories, giving MSU the 6-1 win.
The Spartans return to the courts with their final home doubleheader of the year Saturday, Jan. 22, when they take on Marquette at 10 a.m. before battling former MSU assistant Brian Etzkin and his Cleveland State Vikings at 4 p.m.
Players Mentioned
