Michigan State University
Penn State
Men's Tennis Upended By Penn State
4/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 12, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No. 73 Michigan State men's tennis team fell to No. 47 Penn State on Saturday afternoon, 7-0. The Nittany Lions took all three doubles competitions, then swept the Spartans in singles play. MSU is now 11-11 on the season, and 0-8 in Big Ten play.
Penn State (14-9, 5-3 Big Ten) dominated from the start, taking the Spartans out in all three doubles matches and taking the 1-0 lead. MSU's John Allare and Adam Monich put up a fight at No. 2, but were edged by Adam Slagter and Chris Sherman in the tiebreaker, 9-8 (7).
The Spartans struggled in singles play as well, as they were swept in six flights. No. 63 Michael James of Penn State defeated No. 105 Nick Rinks in a tough three-set match at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. At No. 2, MSU's Alex Forger took Adam Slagter into a third-set supertiebreaker, but ultimately fell, 6-1, 6-7 (7), 1-0 (6), while MSU's No. 4 Monich lost to Eddie Bourchier in a supertiebreaker of his own, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 1-0 (7). At No. 3, Allare was dropped by Brendan Lynch, 6-3, 6-4, and PSU's James Dwyer downed Clark Richardson at No. 5, 6-4, 6-0. At No. 6, Scott Rasmussen was defeated by PSU's Guillaume St. Maurice, 6-4, 6-2.
"We had some chances today in some close matches," said MSU head coach Gene Orlando. "Penn State really stepped it up late, and won some big points that we just couldn't overcome."
Michigan State returns home for a matchup with Northwestern on Saturday, April 19 at 12 p.m. in East Lansing.
Players Mentioned
