Michigan State University
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Western Michigan
Men's Tennis Downs Western Michigan, 6-1
2/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 11, 2009
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis team defeated Western Michigan in its first road match of the season, 6-1, Wednesday in Kalamazoo, Mich. The match marked the eighth straight win for the Spartans, a feat last accomplished in 2003.
The Spartans gained momentum after taking the doubles point with the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams picking up wins. Playing at the No. 2 position, senior John Allare (Mason, Ohio) and junior Jason Norville (Farmington Hills, Mich.) posted an 8-4 win over Casey Cullen and Kevin Hayward. With the win, the duo improved to 6-0 on the season. Senior Alex Forger (Okemos, Mich.) and sophomore Clark Richardson (Leawood, Kansas) topped Kazuya Komada and Pablo Olivarez, 8-5, improving their overall record to 6-0.
Singles play was dominated by the Spartans as they picked up wins in all but one match. At the No. 1 position, Forger defeated Michael Calderone in a close match, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) and Allare posted a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 win at No. 2 over Kevin Hayward. Freshman Austin Brooks (Houston, Texas) defeated Zeyad Montasser, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4, and classmate Ronnie Hulewicz (Tequesta, Fla.) tallied an impressive win over Pablo Olivarez, 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 5 position. Norville rounded out the singles wins with 4-6, 6-0, 7-5, victory at No. 6 over Brad Noel.
"The guys played with a lot of energy today," said head coach Gene Orlando. "This match was by far the best match of the season and the score was not a true identification of how close it really was. We won the close matches and that's what we need to do."
Michigan State will host No. 25 Notre Dame this Saturday, Feb. 14 at 12 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Doubles
#33 Michael Calderone/Zeyad Montasser def. Austin Brooks/John Stratton: 8-5
John Allare/Jason Norville def. Casey Cullen/Kevin Hayward: 8-4
Alex Forger/Clark Richardson def. Kazuya Komada/Pablo Olivarez: 8-5
Singles
Alex Forger def. Michael Calderone: 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
John Allare def. Kevin Hayward: 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
Kazuya Komada def. Scott Rasmussen: 7-5, 6-2
Austin Brooks def. Zeyad Montasser: 6-4, 6-3
Ronnie Hulewicz def. Pablo Olivarez: 6-2, 6-3
Jason Norville def. Brad Noel: 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
Players Mentioned
